Bayern CEO: Kovac's job 'never in question'

Berlin - Under-fire Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac will not be sacked at the end of the season, CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge revealed on Friday.

"It was never in question that he would be our coach next season," Rummenigge told the Bild newspaper, at an event in Berlin on the eve of Saturday's German Cup final.

The 63-year-old has until now been considered one of Kovac's strongest critics in the Bayern boardroom.

Speculation that Kovac was facing the sack had been growing in recent weeks, amid reports that both senior players and the club leadership are unhappy with his coaching style.

Rummenigge has always been particularly cool on Kovac. In April, a day after Bayern had beaten title rivals Borussia Dortmund 5-0, he went on Sky TV to declare that "nobody had a job guarantee" at Bayern.

Yet on Friday, he confirmed that Kovac would not be fired before next season, saying that he had "no problem" with the Croatian coach and dismissing rumours that Kovac's fate was dependent on the outcome of Saturday's cup final.

"It would be crazy to make a decision based on one game," he said, adding that Kovac had already brought success by wrapping up the league title last weekend.

"I think it is definitely a success to win the league in your first year at Bayern. He is a young and relatively inexperienced coach."

Rummenigge also denied that he and club president Uli Hoeness had clashed over Kovac's future.

"The good thing about my relationship with Uli is that we sometimes have different opinions, but we did not have different opinions about the coach."