Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka has insisted that his side are taking things one game at a time as they look to qualify for Europe next season.
Gladbach currently sit fourth in the Bundesliga table, level on points with Borussia Dortmund having won their sixth match in a row with a 2-1 victory over Schalke on Saturday.
That victory opened up a five-point gap between themselves and fifth-placed Wolfsburg, but Xhaka is keen to stress that they still had a long way to go before they can think about qualifying for the Champions League.
"I think we're heading in the right direction, but we've only played 15 games so far," Xhaka told the league's official website.
"We're taking one game at a time and we're trying to play to our full potential in every game. The second half of the season is still to come, but we're doing very well so far."
The Foals face the league's top two teams in Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen when they return from their winter break in January, but Xhaka insists that they are focused on the more immediate challenges that they face.
"We're not looking that far ahead. We've still got to play Mainz away and Wolfsburg at home and we want to get maximum points from those games, but it'll be difficult. First of all, we have to make sure we play well against Mainz," he added.
Monchengladbach's recent results put them second in the form table behind only Bayern Munich.
Barney Corkhill
