Bayern have won 15 of their 16 games in all competitions under returning head coach Jupp Heynckes (l.) in 2017/18. - © © gettyimages / Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images
Bayern have won 15 of their 16 games in all competitions under returning head coach Jupp Heynckes (l.) in 2017/18. - © © gettyimages / Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images

Bayern Munich head coach Jupp Heynckes reveals secrets to success

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Bayern Munich head coach Jupp Heynckes says team work is the chief reason behind the defending Bundesliga champions' resurgent form in the latter part of 2017.

Bayern trailed Borussia Dortmund by five points when Heynckes, 72, was reinstalled for a fourth time in place of Carlo Ancelotti on 6 October 2017, but currently sit 11 clear at the summit following a run of nine wins from their last 10 Bundesliga games.

"The success isn’t down to me, it's all of us together," Heynckes said in an interview with Saturday's Rheinischen Post newspaper. "I just give the players trust and steer them in the right direction."

Bayern have scored 34 and conceded just 10 goals in all competitions on Heynckes' watch, with defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 13 the only blot to the 2012/13 treble-winning strategist's copybook.

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"We've got a comfortable lead at the top of the Bundesliga, but there are still a few things to perfect," Heynckes explained. "In Europe, we're not that far off, but a few things need improving. I'll make sure the players know what. We want to go as far as we possibly can in the Champions League."

Bayern, who are also through to the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup, face Turkish SüperLiga champions Besiktas over two legs in the last 16 of the Champions League on 20 February and 14 March 2018, but not before resuming their pursuit of an unprecedented sixth successive Bundesliga title away to fourth-in-the-table Bayer Leverkusen on 12 January.

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