Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel has insisted that he is "relaxed" over his contract situation despite delaying discussions over a new deal until the end of the season.
The 43-year-old is just past the midway point in his second full campaign at the Westfalenstadion, having joined the Bundesliga giants from Mainz 05 in June 2015.
Tuchel still has another couple of seasons to run on his current terms, and he does not intend to open talks with the club over extending those any further while Dortmund are in the midst of a busy run of fixtures.
"I expect them to respect the fact that I am an extremely bad negotiating partner during the season," he told WDR Radio "I am relaxed. I'm only halfway through my contract.
"We want to qualify for the Champions League at least under the top three, and we want to qualify directly. We have a lot to do."
Dortmund, who finished second in the German top flight last season, are currently 12 points adrift of champions Bayern Munich and have won only one of their last six competitive games.
