Sebastian Kehl delivers "now-or-nothing" speech prior to Mainz clash | OneFootball

The sporting director, Sebastian Kehl, is not playing games anymore. With his job at risk, while some names are already speculated in the media as his likely successor, the former BVB legend did not spare criticism in an interview for Ruhr Nachrichten BVB. Kehl sent a direct message to the players, warning that a lack of response could jeopardize their future at the club:

It is indeed a more than fair warning, especially with so many players getting into their contract year; therefore, tough choices will need to be made. Kehl even reinforced his point in a more severe tone, asking for a quick response in an upcoming month that will feature hard-to-beat opposition like Bayern Münich and FC Barcelona:

As much as Kehl is also attempting to save his own neck with an interview like this, his message clearly reverberates within the administration, mainly with the possibility of staying out of European competition next year. To be more precise, Kehl sounds more like a frustrated captain in the locker room, which Kehl once was, as he understands the standard the club should be aiming for:

Overall, a complete reality shock that most of us were already aware of, but for Kehl to be so straight-forward like this could mean either two things (or both): his role as a sporting director is compromised — and he can't say he was not partially to blame — or this message came from above. I believe it is no coincidence that this interview was released close to Hans-Joachim Watzke's celebratory and controversial piece at the Guardian, and things could (or will) definitely change at Signal Iduna Park very soon.