Niko Kovac's sole trophy in managment came in his final

Niko Kovac's sole trophy in management came in his final game before joining Bayern, guiding Eintracht Frankfurt to a 3-1 win in May's German Cup final against his soon-to-be employers.

He has already taken charge of Bayern in two competitive games, the German Super Cup - in which Bayern beat Eintracht 5-0 - and a less impressive 1-0 victory at fourth-tier Drochtersen/Assel in the first round of the German Cup.

"He's got some characteristics of Jupp [Heynckes], some of Pep [Guardiola]," said Bayern defender Javi Martinez.

"The preparations were tough and intense, but that's exactly what we need. You could see in the Super Cup against Frankfurt that we're all fit.

"Only once before have I experienced a more intense pre-season - Marcelo Bielsa at Athletic Bilbao. Sometimes we trained for three and a half hours."

Former Croatia boss Kovac fielded wing-backs at Eintracht last year, but used Heynckes' preferred 4-2-3-1 set-up in the Super Cup.

Benedikt Warmbrunn, Bayern reporter for regional newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, thinks the former Bayern and Croatia defender, who was born in Germany, is starting to impress after initial scepticism.

"At first, many people were a little bit disappointed because Kovac didn't seem to be a coach who would develop the team or create something completely new - like Pep or, maybe, [Thomas] Tuchel," Warmbrunn told BBC Sport.

"But, after the first weeks, I have to say Kovac brings a lot of new energy into the team. He is a hard-working man, and it looks like that is exactly what the team and the club need right now.

"Bayern are expecting to win the Bundesliga, there's no discussion about that. Considering the Champions League, it's a totally different story. I think they know that the semi-finals would be a great success."

Kovac will hope to do better than the last Bayern manager who had not won a domestic championship - Jurgen Klinsmann did not even see out the 2008-09 season before being sacked.