Heynckes confident ahead of Bayern return

Oct 13, 2017 - 1:07 PM Newly appointed Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes is in a confident mood ahead of starting his fourth spell at the Bundesliga champions against Freiburg.

"I know that the success will come," he told a news conference Friday. The 72-year-old was recently appointed Bayern coach until the end of the season after Carlo Ancelotti was dismissed.

Bayern are second in the Bundesliga, five points behind Borussia Dortmund, following a mixed start to the campaign.

"For me, the bread and butter is that we are stable in defence and everyone is in tune with one another," he said.

He has returned to the game after an absence since 2013 when he ended his last stint with Bayern as winners of an unprecedented Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League treble.

His squad for the contest with Freiburg will be missing midfielder Arturo Vidal who has a muscle problem.

Lowly Freiburg have won only once this season, in their last outing, but Heynckes is not taking anything for granted against Christian Streich's team, who finished a superb seventh last term.

"I have great respect for Freiburg," he said. "What their coach and his team achieve year after year is sensational."

However, Bayern boast one of the strongest squads in Europe and getting the best out of the star-studded group is Heynckes' immediate task.

After Freiburg, Celtic visit Munich in the Champions League in midweek and Bayern head to SV Hamburg before a potentially defining run. They face away and home ties against RB Leipzig in the Cup and Bundesliga, the return leg against Celtic in Glasgow and a crucial trip to Dortmund inside 11 days.

"I expect to see a highly-motivated, enthusiastic team tomorrow," Heynckes said. "There has been a lot of stimulation in training. We worked on many things. Now we need to take it onto the pitch.

"We have so much quality in attack, so much creativity. We can always do something."

Source: AAP