By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- "When Franck Ribery, Thomas Mueller, and Jerome Boateng return after an injury break we will be able to play much better football and be even more successful," warned Bayern Munich head coach Jupp Heynckes.
With seven victories out of as many games, the 72-year-old has guided his side to lead the German Bundesliga, four weeks after the 1974 world champion took over the job from 58-year-old Italian Carlo Ancelotti.
The 2017 German champions returned to the league's top position six points ahead of Borussia Dortmund and four ahead of runner-up RB Leipzig.
After Ancelotti was sacked following a 3-0 defeat to Paris St Germain who led Group B by three points and 13 goals, the Bavarians under Heynckes however qualified for the next round of the Champions League, and will play the French side on Dec. 5 in Munich.
"It is not important for Bayern to finish the group as first, important is to get to the next round and reach a competitive level," Heynckes said.
For the Champions League, Bayern intend to win all of his games, said Heynckes, including a victory at home when meeting Paris.
"I am never satisfied and demand a lot of my players," said Heynckes.
"My opinion is: The way you practice has a direct effect on how you perform in the games," the 1980 European champion said, adding that training intensity has increased and his team still needs time to adapt.
"We are on a good way since Jupp Heynckes took over. But so far we have only done a few steps, we still need to improve as we haven't reached 100 percent yet," Bayern's sports director Hasan Salihamidzic said, "a team does not get into trouble when it comes to muscle problems when in the best shape."
Such comments on the team's fitness are regarded as critics of former Bayern coach Ancelotti. "We have done a good job in the last weeks, but the fact is, we can do much better," said Dutch striker Arjen Robben.
"I am sure we will be successful in the future and keep the number of victories as high as in the last weeks," said Heynckes.
