Bayern Munich players have come under heavy criticism from club CEO Oliver Khan over their recent performances which have seen the Bavarian giants eliminated from the DFB Pokal, UEFA Champions League and lost their spot to Borussia Dortmund as Bundesliga leaders.
The slide coincides with the appointment of Thomas Tuchel as manager, but Kahn has absolved the former Dortmund coach of any responsibility, calling on the team to show more effort on the pitch.
Kahn’s comments came in the aftermath of the latest setback to the Bavarians, where Bayern lost 3-1 at Mainz, one of Tuchel’s former clubs.
“Thomas Tuchel is the last person we need to talk about now,” Kahn told reporters.
“He is doing everything he can to help the boys progress.
“There are 11 men on the pitch who have to work hard to achieve the goals of this club. What the team showed on the pitch is not enough.”
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Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic are under growing pressure, with Bayern at risk of missing out on the Bundesliga title for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
“I have no problem with criticism,” Kahn said. “I have been through a lot in my career and I know what it means when things are not going well at Bayern. We are all responsible.
“Despite this poor performance, we can still become German champions this season. My only objective is to finish the season as champions and to set off again next season.”
Sadio Mane gave Bayern the lead at Mainz, but goals from Ludovic Ajorque, Leandro Barreiro and Aaron Martin in the space of 14 second-half minutes stunned the visitors.
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Bayern have now gone four games without a win across all competitions, and Kahn was particularly concerned by his side’s collapse at Mewa Arena.
“We played a catastrophic second half,” he said. “Who was the team that wants to become champions? It will be very difficult to become champions with such performances.”
According to German outlet Sport1, Kahn, Salihamidzic and president Herbert Hainer spoke to the Bayern squad for 15 minutes in the dressing room after the game.
Echoing the views of Kahn, Hainer accepts something has to change with Bayern’s mindset if they are to catch Dortmund – one point better off – in their final five matches.
“We had the game completely under control in the first half, were 1-0 up, and forgot to score the second goal,” he said. “After their equaliser we broke up completely.
“The second half was disappointing – I have to say that very clearly. When you see two halves that are so different and we collapse like that, it’s really difficult to explain.
“You’ve seen that a few times in the last few games, and I don’t know why. The coach will work on it. You can tell there’s no security. There’s more when they’re a goal down.”
Bayern return to action a week on Sunday with a home match against bottom side Hertha Berlin.