Niko Kovac wants to continue as Borussia Dortmund coach next season regardless of how they finish in the current Bundesliga campaign.

Former Bayern Munich and Croatia coach Kovac succeeded Nuri Sahin in February on a contract until 2026. He has led the struggling team to seventh place and within striking distance of qualifying for Europe, and possibly even the Champions League.

Kovac told Friday’s edition of the Ruhr Nachrichten paper that he wants to stay even if they miss out on Europe for the first time since 2009.

“It was my goal to settle in at Dortmund, to get the ship afloat again, and then to deliver good work in the medium or long term. Nothing has changed in this respect,” he said.

Koav said he doesn’t see himself as a short term solution: “Every coach who is appointed during a season must normally solve some kind of problems.

“The fact that we signed a contract over a year and a half shows a certain commitment. A shorter contract was not an option for either side,” he said.

Dortmund have garnered 10 points from their last four games to move within four points of the top four guaranteeing Champions League football, and two points from sixth which is likely the last European berth.

There are four matchdays left, starting with a Saturday trip to Hoffenheim, and Kovac is satisfied with the development of the team.

“We are doing very well with the approach: Let us win the next game. The team is attacking. We you see what we are doing physically and partly also in footballing terms then we already have very good moments in our game,” he said.

“We are working every day to continue in this way,” he added.