MUNICH (Eurosport) – Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinze Rummenigge has told manager Felix Magath to get tough with his players after the season's first defeat. Bayern's defeat to Bliefeled - who had not previously won a game all season - prompted Rummenigge to warn his manager that there could be no excuses.

"It is imperative that these excuses over why we lost stop," said Rummenigge, who was a member of the West German team that reached the 1982 and 1986 World Cup finals. "I cannot do anything but demand that all the players give the best of themselves as we are entering a decisive part of the championship (Bayern are third a point off leaders Hertha Berlin)."

Magath had said that the reason for the defeat was down to early season fixture congestion.

However Rummenigge said that was simply not the reason for the poor performance.

"When one plays a team like Bielefeld who are clearly inferior in every department of play to us, we have to show more quality than we did on Saturday.

"I can advise every one of them to put their feet down because we are coming into a crucial part of the season," he told the Tz newspaper. "We need to stop giving explanations for poor performances - that just sounds like we are making excuses."