Bayer Leverkusen Simon Rolfes admits playing in next season's Champions League remains the target for the club.

Leverkusen finished second in the Bundesliga last season to book their spot in this season's edition of Europe's premier club competition, but things are not looking good at the moment.

The club are currently in 6th place, seven points behind Borussia Monchengladbach who currently occupy the fourth and final Champions League qualifying spot.

With the Bundesliga set to resume this weekend after the winter break, Rolfes believes Sunday's game against Mainz can kick start a Leverkusen revival.

"With Mainz starts the reboot," Rolfes told Bild. "We are far from securing a spot in the Champions League and we want to return.

"We want to play against Chelsea or Barcelona next year. Nothing against [Rosenborg] Trondheim or [Metalist] Kharkiv, but the Europa League is not our goal."

Rolfes also believes there is plenty of improvement that Leverkusen can make in the second half of the campaign.

"In the first round we were too variable. We can no longer occasionally give our best performances.

"In my opinion, it is important to find the right mix of offensive play and defensive stability and discipline. That's always a balancing act.

"If we achieve that, we still have every chance of finishing in the top four."

After finishing second in Group E behind Chelsea, Leverkusen will play Barcelona in the round of 16.