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Niko Kovac defiant amid pressure over Bayern Munich job

German media reports say Arsene Wenger is under consideration for position should club decide to take decisive action

Niko Kovac Bayern Munich
Image: Niko Kavic succeeded Jupp Heynckes in the summer

Niko Kavic insists he is a “fighter” and remains confident of addressing Bayern Munich’s form amid mounting pressure over his position as head coach.

German media reports have linked Arsene Wenger with the post should the Bayern hierarchy decide to take decisive action, after a 3-3 draw against Dusseldorf saw them fall nine points adrift of league leaders Borussia Dortmund.

Bayern host Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday needing one point from their final two group games to assure progress to the knockout stages.

"Those who know me know that I am always a fighter," Kovac said.

"My whole life has been to assert myself, giving up or waving the white flag does not exist in my vocabulary. I will always fight.

My whole life has been to assert myself, giving up or waving the white flag does not exist in my vocabulary.
Niko Kovac

"Criticism is always there if you don't live up to the expectations - we need one point tomorrow to progress, but we want to win. And then we hope we'll perform better in the Bundesliga than we have before."

Kovac, a former Bayern player, succeeded Jupp Heynckes in the summer on a three-year deal but the club's bid to lift a seventh successive Bundesliga title have stuttered after a run of three league fixtures without a win.

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Niko Kovac Bayern Munich
Image: Niko Kovac's Bayern trail league leaders Borussia Dortmund by nine points

When asked whether he feared the match against Benfica would be his last in charge Kovac said: "No! What should make me negative? I'm always positive."

Bayern chiefs called an unexpected news conference in October after head coach Kovac had come under pressure following a run of four games without a win, only for them to slam the German media for "degrading" criticism of their players.

Dodi Lukebakio, on loan from Watford, scored a hat-trick against Bayern Munich
Image: Dodi Lukebakio scored a hat-trick for Dusseldorf against Bayern

"I was very disappointed and annoyed on Saturday. If you lead against Augsburg, Freiburg and Dusseldorf and then give away points, then that's annoying," Kovac added.

"This way we've dropped six points, the mistakes are repeated but we can't play havoc with our plans.

"We only have 14 outfield players available and I hope the boys can reach their limits tomorrow."

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