Guardiola responsible for Bayern success, says Rummenigge

The FCB director has stressed that the club's successful season so far is no coincidence, but is largely the result of the Spaniard's presence

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has hailed Pep Guardiola's contribution to the Bundesliga giants' recent successes and feels the 43-year-old has helped increase the club's popularity, too.

The former Barcelona coach replaced Jupp Heynckes as the man in charge of the Bavarians at the start of the 2013-14 season after last term's historic treble win, and Rummenigge is impressed with Guardiola's work so far.

"This individual is a stroke of fortune for Bayern Munich as he combines quality and hard work in an unparalleled way," Rummenigge told the official Bayern website.

"Everything that looks so effortless in public is the product of hard work from Monday to Friday. The intensity on the training ground, which I regularly see from the window of my office, is a marker.

"It’s no coincidence we’re writing this success story now.

"And we show the necessary respect to every opponent. I’ve never heard Pep utter a single arrogant word. That really pleases me and that struck me in his time at Barcelona.

"Our popularity has never been so high before. That’s also down to Pep."

Bayern are unbeaten in the Bundesliga under Guardiola, collecting 62 points from 22 encounters.