FC Koln defender Jonas Hector is confident his side can do enough in their final three games to secure a spot in next season’s Europa League.

Koln are currently in eighth spot in the Bundesliga table but can will move into sixth, the final European place, if they beat visitors Werder Bremen on Friday.

Hector admits his side will have to be at their best in their final matches if they are to gatecrash the European places, but he is in confident mood ahead of Bremen’s visit.

“We know we’ve had a few bad patches, which we can’t be happy with, but I think we can be happy with the season so far as a whole,” he told the Bundesliga’s official website.

“We’ve got three games to go. Let’s see what happens. “No one expected this section of the table to be so tight. Hertha in fifth have 46 points, Frankfurt in 11th have 41.

“Obviously we’re proud to be involved [in the battle for European qualification] at the business end [of the season].

We’ll have to wait and see what happens with two home games and the derby in Leverkusen to go.”

Koln are 2.30 to claim a win on Friday, Bremen can be backed at 2.88 and the draw is 3.40. Koln travel to fierce rivals Bayer Leverkusen in their penultimate fixture before hosting Mainz in the final round of Bundesliga matches.