Bayern Munich Chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Backs Niko Kovac to Stay 'A Long Time'

Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has backed manager Niko Kovac to turn things around at the Allianz Arena and said he hopes to work with him for years to come.

The Bavarian outfit have struggled this season and find themselves fifth in the Bundesliga, nine points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.

Rummenigge told AZ's Maximilian Koch (h/t Goal):

"The wish of all us at FC Bayern is to collaborate with Niko Kovac for a long time. It's my wish that he not only is our coach at Christmas in 2018, but also in 2019 and in 2020.

"He knows Bayern Munich. He's an extreme character, in a positive sense. He's a person that I like. I see a coach who fights, who's ready to change a few things. And he has to change a few things."

Kovac took over in the summer after Jupp Heynckes had come out of retirement to salvage their campaign last season.

A poor start to 2017/18 left them five points behind Dortmund by September, which prompted the club to sack Carlo Ancelotti and turn to Heynckes for the fourth time.

Bayern have been even worse this season, but having only just appointed Kovac, they will be hoping he can turn things around.

Football writer Raphael Honigstein does not seem too convinced by the 47-year-old, though:

Fellow Bundesliga expert Jonathan Harding believes club president Uli Hoeness is the biggest source of Bayern's problems and that sacking Kovac would not alleviate them:

With the squad he has to work with, Kovac will have expected to coax out better results than he has.

However, the club did little to back him in the summer. Although they can still produce on occasion, it has long been apparent that Bayern need to find long-term successors for Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, who are 34 and 35, respectively.

Despite that, the club's only acquisition of note was midfielder Leon Goretzka on a free transfer.

Until they inject fresh talent into their ageing squad, it would be harsh to sack Kovac, even if he has yet to make the most of the players he has at his disposal.

Nevertheless, despite the club's backing, if results don't begin to improve soon, it may not be too long before they go back to the drawing board.