Schalke 04's Brazilian midfielder Lincoln insisted on Thursday his side would do "whatever it takes" in their quest to lift their first Bundesliga title.
The 28-year-old was battling to shake off a thigh injury for last night's trip to VfL Bochum, but with only four games left the race for the title will go to the wire and no Schalke player wants to miss a game.
Before yesterday's game Schalke were just two points clear of second-placed Werder Bremen and having won the last of their seven German titles in 1958, this would be their first time as Bundesliga champions since the new format was introduced in 1963.
PHOTO: AP
Schalke suffered heartbreak in 2001 when they thought they had captured the title following a 5-3 win over Unterhaching only for Bayern Munich defender Patrik Andersson to grab an equalizer deep into injury-time at Hamburg which snatched the title away.
"Each of us has a job to do, everybody has to give their all. We are ready, we'll do whatever it takes," Lincoln said.
Schalke coach Mirko Slomka said his side must concentrate on winning their last four games -- against Bochum, Nuremberg, Borussia Dortmund and Arminia Bielefeld -- to make the title safe.
PHOTO: AP
"We just have to win our matches, whether on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Our position on that score hasn't changed over the last few weeks," he said.
"It's not a question of waiting for one of the others to slip up -- we just have to put on a good performance ourselves," Slomka said.
Should Schalke lose, second-placed Werder Bremen are on their heels just two points behind and they travel to Arminia Bielefeld tomorrow, having contested the first leg of the UEFA Cup semi-final at Spain's Espanyol on Thursday.
All is not rosy in the Bremen squad with question marks hanging over the future at the club of midfielders Torsten Frings and Diego, as well as striker Miroslav Klose.
"It is not pleasant that these discussions are permanently on the agenda," Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf said.
Last weekend's defeat at VfB Stuttgart means fourth-placed Bayern Munich have a five-point gap to close to secure a top-three finish which will guarantee them a Champions League place next year.
Failure to do so would mean they miss out on a place in Europe's premier tournament for the first time in 11 years and the German giants would have to swallow the bitter pill of life in the UEFA Cup.
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