Borussia Dortmund hit rock bottom on Saturday, yet their feelings after a 0-0 draw at Bayer Leverkusen were the most positive they have been in a long time.
With Freiburg beating Eintracht Frankfurt, the Westphalians slumped to the bottom of the standings and they find themselves one point adrift going into the midweek Bundesliga matches, yet the atmosphere within the club has hardly been any better this season.
"I'm happy," said Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp. "We've played a good game against the side who have the most uncomfortable style to play against in the Bundesliga.
"This was a good first step in the second half of the season. I'm not at all disturbed [about being bottom]. We've gained a point. We're in a relegation battle and we're within touching distance [of safety] and that is all that interests me.
"We're going to put pressure on everybody ahead of us."
Dortmund showed that they had realised the severity of the situation they are in, playing a much more defensive style to what they have shown in recent seasons, but Klopp says it does not work any other way.
"You can't say you're fighting relegation and then demand champagne football," he said. "What we did today was perfectly fine. A point is always a good result in Leverkusen and this one today will do us particularly good."