Max Eberl said at Saturday's press conference ahead of Bayern Munich's Bundesliga clash with Freiburg that the club will do more to protect Vincent Kompany from overwork after the coach was taken to hospital following a health setback.
Eberl outlines Bayern's position
Eberl said: "Of course, people can try to look for someone to blame, but the truth is we protect our coach as much as possible. When the coach says he feels ready to carry out his duties, we cannot know exactly how he really feels, and we cannot simply tell him we will not allow him to do it."
He added: "Vinny will get the time he needs, and we will make greater efforts than before to protect him from himself, so to speak."
What happened before the Arsenal match
Eberl said: "We had already kept him away from work for two days, before the Arsenal match, because we knew he was infected with a virus."
He added: "But he recovered well and felt fine, and at that point it becomes difficult to tell him he is not allowed to carry out his duties."
Eberl on Kompany's decision
Eberl said: "He has his own opinion, and he has the right to express it. He wanted to take part in the match, everything seemed fine, and he felt fine. There is a degree of personal responsibility in recognising the moment when one must say: I do not want to carry on with this, I can no longer continue. And I think Vinny is an exceptional and astonishingly hard-working personality... perhaps our society has lost something in this regard, but there are still people like him who simply say: I want to get things done, I want to work."
He also said: "There is also a wonderful saying: if you do not listen to the weakest signals your body sends, your body will eventually scream. That is unfortunately what happened, and we must all respect that."
German press reports on the setback
German press reports had suggested Kompany's habit of working long hours, coupled with a lack of sleep, may have contributed to the recent health setback that will keep him away from the team for weeks.