Frankfurt insist Bayern-bound Kovac will see out the season

Eintracht Frankfurt will not dispense with Bayern Munich-bound Niko Kovac before the end of the season, despite the club’s recent dip in form.

The former Bayern midfielder will succeed Jupp Heynckes at the Allianz Arena after signing a three-year contract to take over at the Bundesliga champions.

Kovac’s move was officially announced on April 13, since when Frankfurt have lost three in a row in the league, including a 4-1 defeat to the Croatian’s next employers last Saturday.

However, with a DFB-Pokal final still to come against Bayern, sporting director Bruno Hubner has confirmed there are no plans to make a managerial change at this stage of the campaign.

“For us, the issue of a replacement does not arise at all,” Hubner told reporters.

“Niko will stay until the end of the season. I cannot see any connection between the results and his departure. The squad backs him.”

Even with their recent downturn in fortunes, Frankfurt sit seventh in the table with two Bundesliga games remaining.

They host Hamburg on Saturday before visiting Schalke on the final weekend of the campaign, with Kovac’s final game in charge being the cup final with Bayern on May 19.