Jupp Heynckes, centre, is the new interim head coach for Bayern Munich. Jupp Heynckes, centre, is the new interim head coach for Bayern Munich. (Joerg Koch/AFP/Getty Images)

Veteran coach Jupp Heynckes said Tuesday the main objective during his short spell in charge of Bayern Munich is to secure a spot in next season's Champions League.

Heynckes was presented as interim coach a day after Bayern fired Juergen Klinsmann, whose 10-month stay at the defending Bundesliga champion ended following a slump.

Club officials brought in the 63-year-old Heynckes, who coached Bayern to two Bundesliga titles nearly two decades ago, in an attempt to give new life to its faltering challenge in the final five matches of this season.

Bayern is third in the league standings, three points behind leader Wolfsburg.

Only the top two qualify automatically for the Champions League, while the third-place team goes into the qualifying round.

"Our aim must be to achieve direct qualification for the Champions League," Heynckes told reporters.

'Apathetic and paralyzed'

Heynckes said Bayern's players appeared "apathetic and paralyzed" during Klinsmann's last match in charge, a 1-0 home loss to Schalke on Saturday.

"It's true that this is a difficult situation, but I think I have a lot of experience in such situations too," Heynckes said.

"I know myself that it is incredibly difficult to change things fundamentally in four weeks, but I think one can get through to players in the short term."

Heynckes's first match in charge will be Saturday's home game against his hometown side Borussia Moenchengladbach — the club where Heynckes last worked and which fired him in 2007. He also starred for the club as a player.

The coach has worked at a wide range of clubs, most prominently Real Madrid, where he won the Champions League title.

However, Bayern officials are making it clear that his stay in Munich will be temporary, and that they will search intensively for a permanent replacement.

"I'm hoping for a trainer who approaches the class of a Guus Hiddink," Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer told the Bild newspaper, referring to the Russia and interim Chelsea coach.