Heynckes to stick with 'tried' and 'trusted'

During the first half of the Bundesliga season, Heynckes was extremely resourceful with his squad, using nearly every player as he used a rotation method that changed each week, however, as the season begins to reach its most important and season defining period, the Bayern boss is sticking with a 'tried' and 'trusted' eleven.

Bayern face Schalke this weekend with a commanding twelve point lead over second placed Borussia Dortmund, however Heynckes is keen to develop a safe and stable starting eleven as his side aim to go one better than they did in the Champions League last season, but that means the likes of Arjen Robben and Mario Gomez may stay on the bench.

The Bundesliga side lost on penalties to Chelsea in the Champions League final last season and they face a tricky tie against Arsenal in the last-16.

"For a player not to be happy when they are not playing is quite normal, but that is the case with five or six players," he said.

"This is just the way things are at the moment. I have faith in all of my players.

"The important thing is we talk a lot. It's about honesty and telling the players clearly how you want to act, and there is a good relationship of reciprocal trust with almost all of the squad.

"As things stand, I think everybody in my team is fully fit."

Schalke have made a poor start to 2013 but Heynckes is still not convinced he can change his starting eleven due to that statement.

"Schalke did not play as badly as people made out against Furth," he said.

"They had a great deal of misfortune in the end, hitting the post and then conceding in stoppage time. What I rate the most about Schalke is that they are a good team even when they are unsettled.

"They will come to Munich with a great deal of motivation and they will want to create an upset here. We are going to have to prepare accordingly."

Meanwhile, Schalke midfielder Roman Neustadter believes his side can right the wrongs of 2013 with a win against Bayern.

"We have nothing to lose so we can play without any pressure, but we still have to believe in ourselves and not just hope that we come away without conceding," Neustadter added on his Schalke's official website.

image: © Lorenzo Blangiardi

Ben Crump

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Founder of Inside Spanish Football and Freelance European Football Writer, previously worked for Goal.com, Forza Italian Football, Shoot Magazine. Youth Football Coach and dedicated husband and father!