Bayern´s Van Gaal accepts need for improvement

Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal admitted on Friday that his job will be in danger if his side fail to improve, starting with their match at home to league leaders Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.

“I have to produce results,” said the Dutchman. “Because if I don’t, I’ll be fired. We have to win. The club needs success, but so does the coach.”

Van Gaal, who arrived at the club in the summer, maintains that he still enjoys full support at Germany’s biggest club, despite recent criticism from general manager Uli Hoeness and president Franz Beckenbauer.

The 58-year-old tactician explained, however, that he speaks to his bosses every week and knows “what they think and what they feel”.

Van Gaal added: “We’re always honest, clear and direct. We have the same objectives.”

Hoeness recently demanded to see “progress” from Van Gaal.

“I’ve not fixed a deadline,” he said. “For me what counts is that him and the team succeed in progressing. That’s what we’re judging.”

On Thursday Beckenbauer said that Van Gaal needed to learn “how to assign trust and delegate responsibility”.

Bayern, runners-up behind champions Wolfsburg last season, are currently eighth in the Bundesliga and trail Leverkusen by six points.