Hamburg can still beat drop - Adler
The odds are stacked against Hamburg but goalkeeper Rene Adler is still hopeful the Bundesliga strugglers can avoid relegation.
Hamburg goalkeeper Rene Adler acknowledged his club's "precarious position" in the Bundesliga table but still believes they can preserve their top-flight status.
Adler and Co. are on the brink of relegation to Germany's second tier after Saturday's loss at fellow strugglers Stuttgart saw Hamburg drop into the bottom two positions with one round remaining.
Hamburg - second from bottom - are two points adrift of safety and one behind Stuttgart, who leapfrogged the former to climb into the relegation play-off position.
Results must go Hamburg's way if they are to beat the drop but Adler is quietly confident heading into Saturday's hosting of Schalke.
"It's out of our hands now and that's an awful feeling," the 30-year-old told Bundesliga.com.
"We just have to do our job against Schalke and hope the other results go our way.
"We know how the table looks as well. We're in a precarious position but we can still do it. There's no point in saying everything's lost right now, though, because I believe we'll win against Schalke."
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
'People will remember us because we got to No.1 in the world rankings and achieved great things - but our biggest regret is that we didn’t win anything': Ex-Everton star Kevin Mirallas opens up on 'honour' of being part of nation's golden generation
‘I’m sure we’d have finished in the top four or five if he hadn’t joined Chelsea in January. Him leaving damaged the team, but we couldn’t stand in his way’: Alan Curbishley reflects on failed Champions League dream after selling key player