Updated Mar 27, 2011 7:05 AM ET
Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm has welcomed the decision to part company with Louis van Gaal and appoint Jupp Heynckes.
Van Gaal has paid the price for a disappointing, trophyless season by having his contract terminated one year earlier than planned and Heynckes this week agreed to take over from the summer and Lahm says his club have got their decision-making spot on.
"That is the way things are when you are at FC Bayern - if you are not successful, then you have to face the consequences and I think that is absolutely right," he told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
"FC Bayern have the aim to be the number one all the time and always win titles.
"If that does not happen, then questions are asked of everything and that is what has happened this season.
"It has nothing to do with fairness, but those in charge at FC Bayern make decisions which make it clear to everybody that we cannot go on like this. That is right."
Lahm has already worked six weeks under Heynckes at the end of the 2008/09 season and is looking forward to reacquainting himself with the current Bayer Leverkusen boss.
"He gave us our enjoyment back and we won four of the five games under him, drawing the other," added Lahm.
"So we were very successful and that is why the appointment of Heynckes is a good decision.
"I have a good feeling about Heynckes. He knows FC Bayern and all of the decision-makers very well and it is certainly going to work out with him.
"Bayern Munich and Jupp Heynckes - that sounds like a winning team."
However, before Heynckes arrives, Bayern must bring the season to as successful a conclusion as possible.
They are currently two points behind third-placed Hannover with seven games of the season remaining.
Were the campaign to end now, Bayern would only be playing in the Europa League next season and Lahm admits nobody at the club wants to contemplate that.
"The Europa League is smaller and less attractive in every respect," he said.
"The cities, the clubs, the stadia, the attendance figures - everybody who works in football thinks this way.
"At FC Bayern, we want to measure ourselves against the best in the world, not with the leftovers from a party."
Updated Mar 26, 2011 3:20 PM ET
Werder Bremen defender Per Mertesacker would be keen on a move to the Premier League, but insists he's not currently thinking about his future.
Mertesacker will line up at the heart of Germany's defence on Saturday night against Kazakhstan, and his role in the national team has never been in doubt despite a difficult season for his club side.
He has received a lot of criticism for his role in Bremen's demise with numerous uncharacteristic mistakes costing his team points, yet he remains a rumoured target of Arsenal and Liverpool.
However, the 26-year-old says he is currently only focused on saving Bremen from the drop this year and improving his own form, and then he will consider his options with a move to England being an "attractive" one.
"England has been an issue for a few years now, but I cannot make a decision yet," he told Die Welt newspaper.
"Of course the Premier League is attractive, but right now there is only one issue for me and that is avoiding the drop."
Mertesacker's contract with Bremen expires in 2012, meaning the Bundesliga club could only demand a substantial fee for him this summer, but he insists "now is not the time" to discuss where he will be playing next year.
Instead, he is trying to work out why his form has dipped this season.
"There are just so many different reasons which all came together," he explained.
"But I believe that it happens now and again that somebody does not play one season at the very highest level.
"You have to go through a dip to improve.
"We are not machines who always work, but that does not detract from the fact that we cannot repeat such a terrible season."
Bremen are 12th in the Bundesliga, just four points above the relegation zone with seven games remaining.
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