Karlsruhe coach Edmund Becker was coming to terms with almost certain relegation last night after his side threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at home to Hannover and leave their fate in the hands of others.
With Bochum, Arminia Bielefeld, Energie Cottbus and Borussia Monchengladbach in action, a win for any two of those four sides would seal Karlsruhe's return to the second division after two years in the top flight and Becker admits he is going to miss the Bundesliga.
"It really hurts," he said on Premiere television. "When you see the fascination of the Bundesliga, to play in these stadia and measure yourself against the best clubs in Germany is absolutely amazing.
"That is why it particularly hurts not to be able to stick around here."
Karlsruhe began the game well and raced into a two-goal lead, giving them hope of escaping from the danger zone.
At that stage, they were only two points adrift of safety and, with two games to go, they would have still fancied their chances of avoiding the drop, but then they fell asleep and conceded two quick goals before letting in a third in the second half.
"That is symptomatic of our season," said Becker.
"We played passionate football at the start and deserved to go ahead, but then we ruined everything in a matter of three minutes.
"The team sunk to the ground afterwards. It is a very bitter day for us."
Despite their likely relegation, coach Becker has still been assured he will remain in charge of the club next season.
General manager Rolf Dohmen has repeatedly said that Becker is the man he would like to lead the club back up to the Bundesliga in the event of relegation.
