The fine line between success and failure could not have been demonstrated any better by Bayern Munich, whose coach Louis van Gaal celebrated a job well done yesterday.

A 3-0 win at Hannover took the record German champions into a more comfortable fourth position in the Bundesliga after spending a month drifting between sixth, seventh and eighth. Furthermore, a 1-0 win over Maccabi Haifa in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday has kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the last 16 of the competition, bringing a smile to the face of the Dutch coach, possibly for the first time all season.

"We have had a good week," he beamed. "We are back in the hunt in the Champions League and in the Bundesliga. I was happy enough not being jeered at the Annual General Meeting because that could have happened, but now things have relaxed a little and these wins bring us back into a position where Bayern Munich should be."

We have had a good week. We are back in the hunt in the Champions League and in the Bundesliga.
Louis van Gaal

Van Gaal's three strikers, Ivica Olic, Mario Gomez and Thomas Muller, all found the back of the net, which particularly pleased the Dutchman, who revealed he had not for one minute thought about bringing Luca Toni off the bench. "He has not apologised to me and he won't apologise either," said Van Gaal, who on the eve of the match had made it clear that the Italian was making the trip purely to make up the numbers since Miroslav Klose was unavailable.

Toni criticised Van Gaal last week, saying their relationship was "as good as over", and that still appears to be the case, despite his inclusion in the matchday squad. Bayern's win kept them within six points of league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who according to Bayern's honorary president Franz Beckenbauer "will not be caught" before Christmas.

"But with today's win, we are a bit closer and we have the chance to get to within touching distance by the end of the first half of the season," he added on Sky television. Bayern host Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday where a win would take them into a share of second place - their highest position of the season.end