Questions about his future as Bayern Munich coach have long become a habit for Hansi Flick. Interested parties from abroad are currently not an issue for the 55-year-old. For Flick, the sporting exams count, for which Kahn warns.
Munich (dpa) - Even with the umpteenth demand for his future as Bayern coach, Hansi Flick was not disturbed. After all, the 55-year-old roughly outlined the time frame in which the question of a new contract with the German football champions could be clarified.
"It's just fun to work with the team. You can see that in the results and in the way the team plays. It's impressive," said the Munich success coach before the derby on Sunday (3:30 p.m. / Sky) against FC Augsburg. "What comes after that will be shown in the next few weeks, maybe months - let's stay with weeks."
Flick has won 17 of 20 competitive games since taking office with FC Bayern. The successor of Niko Kovac has the arguments for a new contract on his side. The long-term advertising loop of his stars has been running for a long time, and there has been plenty of encouragement from the bosses. But nothing is fixed yet.
With his successful streak, the long-time assistant to national coach Joachim Löw aroused desires on the coaching market. Recently, there was speculation about interest from the Premier League, but Flick would also block such requests, according to its own statements.
"I am currently at Bayern Munich and in the end that is my contact person. There are things that have been agreed and everything else is not relevant to me," said Flick. "I'm focused on every game. Now comes Augsburg, then we can take a deep breath, then we have three games and a hard week before the international break."
His ensemble still has title chances in all three competitions, five days after the semi-finals in the DFB Cup, the Bavarian derby is the next test in the remote duel for the championship. After the 2-2 in the first leg, Flick relies on a more watchful team this time. "I'm not a clairvoyant, but we want to focus on the game," he said.
Munich lead the league tableau with 52 points ahead of Leipzig (49), Dortmund (48) and Mönchengladbach (46). "In the Bundesliga, we cannot afford to slip if the championship is to function for the eighth time in a row," warned the new board member Oliver Kahn. "We have to keep the level up because every game is crucial. But that is exactly what I see as a great advantage for our goals. So I am confident that we will go very far in the Champions League."
After his break against Schalke, world champion and record entry Lucas Hernández returns to the squad and plays in Flick's "Planning Matters". Like Kingsley Coman, Robert Lewandowski is still missing. "It's looking pretty good at the moment," said Flick of the Polish keeper who was injured on the knee.
The coach left open who replaced him against Augsburg. Joshua Zirkzee, Thomas Müller or Serge Gnabry are the alternatives, whereby Gnabry is probably the number one option. "After the final training on Saturday, we still have a little time," said the coach, "but we don't have too many alternatives either."
Bavaria game plan
Bundesliga schedule
Bundesliga table
Title wins FC Bayern
Goalscorer list Bundesliga
Team statistics FC Bayern
Champions League round of 16