Low warns his side against complacency

Germany coach Joachim Low is warning his side not to become complacent despite being within touching distance of Euro 2008.

Germany can seal their qualification on Saturday by obtaining a point in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland, but until their fate is mathematically clear, Low is reminding his players that a job must still be done.

“Nobody can come and say to me that we have an eight-point advantage over Ireland and we will get through sooner or later,” he told Germany’s Kicker magazine.

Although it is highly unlikely Germany will not get the point they need in the four remaining qualifiers, Low wants his team to book their place in Austria and Switzerland as soon as possible.

“Our aim is clearly to make sure we qualify right now in Ireland,” he added.

Early qualification would allow Low to begin his preparations for the tournament immediately with the coach claiming that the two home fixture against Cyprus and Wales “would practically be our last chances to experiment”.

Despite losing midfield trio Roberto Hilbert, Bernd Schneider and Tim Borowski for Saturday‘s match, Low says he has “no plans to call anybody else up”.

“Up to now, we have always been able to deal with any absences and act as a team,” he added.

Given the responsibility for leading that team out in Dublin is Torsten Frings, who himself has only just returned from injury and has only a handful of Bundesliga games under his belt.

“He has become an indispensable leading figure over the years,” said Low.

Jens Lehmann is also set to continue between the posts for his country despite having lost his starting place at Arsenal.

“There is nothing standing between him and playing,” said goalkeeping coach Andreas Kopke.