Rummenigge praises Van Gaal’s hard approach

(GSM) – Bayern München are on a high at the moment, having won their last eleven games but still Louis van Gaal isn’t satisfied with his team.

Bayern won 3-1 at VfL Wolfsburg last Saturday and beat second Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth 6-2 in their DFB Pokal quarter-final on Wednesday but got a roasting from Van Gaal in both matches.

The former Barcelona manager was furious when his side briefly lost their grip on the Wolfsburg match.

“I’m very angry because we were arrogant,” he said after the match. “We lost concentration after going 2-0 up. It was completely unnecessary.”

Yesterday Van Gaal lost his temper when Bayern trailed Fürth 2-1 at the Allianz Arena before hitting back with five second-half goals.

“I was again very angry at halftime,” said Van Gaal. “There’s no second chance in a Cup tie.

“If you lose you’re out and we didn’t want that. Fuerth were more aggressive than us and that can’t be happening.”

Club president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge praised Van Gaal’s hard approach.

“I thought it was right and terrific,” he told the club’s official website. “After winning so many games in a row you tend to get sloppy.

“Voices were raised but the players knew at once what the coach was on about. Let’s not forget we’ve only played four games since the winter break and the intense phase is only just upon us.

“If we make the kind of mistakes we made on Saturday, there’ll be a rude awakening in the Champions League. Louis van Gaal thought ‘nip it in the bud’. That was Van Gaal the psychologist,” added Rummenigge.

Bayern faces Borussia Dortmund on Saturday in the Allianz Arena before hosting Fiorentina in the first leg of their Champions League opening round knockout tie on Wednesday.