Leverkusen out to improve mood after title hopes all but gone, Xabi Alonso says

Bayer Leverkusen want to end their Bundesliga season with a strong finish to improve the mood in the team after all but ending their title hopes in the past two weeks with two consecutive draws, said coach Xabi Alonso on Friday.

The still-reigning champions, who are in second place eight points behind leaders Bayern Munich with four games left, will most likely end the season with no silverware after last season's unbeaten domestic league and Cup double.

Leverkusen drew their last two league games to drop further behind the Bavarians in what could potentially be the last season at the German club for Alonso.

"The situation in the past week is a bit different after the draw against St Pauli," Alonso, a major transfer target for top European clubs, told a press conference ahead of Saturday's game against Augsburg.

"We want to end the season as best as possible with a bit of a better feeling than we have right now. There were a lot of positives this season but clearly our feeling right now is not the best."

Holders Leverkusen, beaten in the Champions League last 16 by Bayern, also crashed out of the German Cup earlier this month following a shock semifinal loss to third-tier Arminia Bielefeld.

"We have to change a bit in this feeling. We wanted to stay in the fight for the Bundesliga but we did not do it well in the past two matches and that is the consequence now," said Alonso.

The Spaniard, with a contract to 2026, did not comment on reports that these four remaining matches would be his last for Leverkusen, with transfer rumours swirling for months.

"No, I don't go that far," Alonso said when asked about his future at the club after the end of the season. "I want to prepare my team. I don't want to think too far ahead.

"No pressure. The situation is clear. There's a moment for everything and it's still too early to talk (about that), so we need to wait," he added.