Poland coach Pawel Janas believes his side "have nothing to lose" in Wednesday's must-win clash with Germany.

Not much has gone Janas' way following a dismal performance in the first group encounter with Ecuador, who earned a surprising 2-0 win last Friday.

Not only has he fallen out with the country's media, but there has also been talk of a power struggle between him and his players over tactics.

A grim-faced Janas, who claimed he has suffered the 'worse days in his life', has now hit back at his critics.

"There is a lot of speculation about a rift between me and the team, or that I have disappeared," he told a press conference on Tuesday evening.

"Each day we hear something new. But don't believe it."

Janas remained tight-lipped about potential changes to his line-up, even though it is widely believed he will abandon the 4-5-1 formation that faltered against Ecuador.

"This is my secret and I have to keep it," he said.

"We only had a few chances to score and that is the reason why we lost. We need to change it against Germany, but it will be tough."

Up to four players could find themselves dropped to the bench, with Ireneusz Jelen a leading candidate to replace Miroslav Szymkowiak as an attacking midfielder while Celtic striker Maciej Zurawski could also find himself on the bench.

Whatever his team selection, Janas believes his side will show their real worth, but remains wary of the tournament hosts.

"German teams always tend to get better during the course of a tournament and I expect no less from them this time," he said.

"Tomorrow we will see the real value of both sides."

The host nation have never lost an international in Dortmund but Janas is hoping Poland have some of the frenetic support they enjoyed against Ecuador.

"Yesterday I said sorry (for the performance against Ecuador) on behalf of myself and on behalf of the team," he said.

"I hope the fans will support us in the same way they did in Gelsenkirchen. We need their help and hopefully we can give something back."

Defender Michal Zewlakow urged his team-mates to believe in themselves, adding: "In the four days in between we will not be faster or have more power, but we can change our mentality in our heads. That will be the key.

"We do not have to think about the pressure but about how we can perform in the best possible way.

"We just have to show our skills and what we are able to do. And we need to believe; we need to believe in our strengths."