Wolfsburg coach Steve McClaren insists his side are still capable of a top-five finish, despite an unsatisfactory start.

The 2009 Bundesliga champions have picked up just 13 points from their first 11 matches and are languishing in the bottom half of the table having lost six games.

Nevertheless, they remain only five points adrift of the top five and the former England coach is remaining optimistic.

"We have not thrown away our chances of achieving our objective for the season yet," he said on his club's website.

"We want to end the season in the top five.

"However, we cannot feel sorry for ourselves now because there are a lot of points at stake in November."

In 2009, the Wolves emerged from ninth at the midway stage of the season to take the title with a match to spare.

And McClaren believes there is still a good chance of history repeating itself.

He said: "We have learnt from the past that a good second half of the season can make up for a lot.

"Many other teams are having problems at the moment and are not playing with consistency.

"But of course we have got to stick at it and keep fighting for the necessary points."