Bayer Leverkusen insist they have a "result crisis" rather than a "coach crisis" as the pressure on boss Roger Schmidt continues to mount.
Leverkusen crashed out of the DFB Pokal on Tuesday after losing in a penalty shootout to third-tier club Sportfreunde Lotte, who were reduced to 10 men.
Schmidt's side have now not won in four consecutive matches across all competitions, while they have slipped to 11th in the Bundesliga, with a league game against Wolfsburg and Champions League clash with Tottenham Hotspur coming up next.
"We are going into an important week which could be decisive for the rest of the season," Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller told kicker, adding that the team's recent performances have been "unacceptable because we can do better."
However, for now Voller has given his backing to Schmidt, who will sit out the final match of his two-game ban -- for comments made to Hoffenheim boss Julian Nagelsmann -- at Wolfsburg.
"We have no ultimatums here. We want to get back on track with him," Voller said. "He definitely has our support, but he knows that he has to deliver now. Because one thing is clear: we won't back down from our expectations."
Local newspaper Express has claimed that Schmidt has until the upcoming international break in November to turn things around at Leverkusen or risk facing the sack.
However, Leverkusen CEO Michael Schade told the newspaper: "We have no coach crisis but rather a result crisis. We are convinced of Schmidt's qualities."