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Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm has warned his club to prepare for the future and not sit back during one of the most successful eras in their history. Bayern are on course for a third straight domestic league and cup double, while they also scooped the Champions League in 2013 and reached the final in both 2010 and 2012. Lahm has been one of the inspirations behind this latest golden era, but at the age of 31, and having already retired from international football, Lahm has suggested he only has a few years left in him. The likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Xabi Alonso, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben are likely to hang up their boots within the next few years and Lahm is concerned that his club must prepare for the next generation. "It's always been the case here, even in the generation before with Mehmet Scholl, Jens Jeremies or Hasan Salihamidzic, that we had players who were 100 percent committed to this club and that's important,'' Lahm told kicker magazine. "That's why Bayern have got to ensure that, once the current generation has left, the next one is already primed with players coming through the youth ranks where possible who have the same identification with the club. "That is what Bayern Munich are all about. It's certainly not an easy task, but the club have got to ensure that it happens." Lahm, who has just returned to training after breaking his ankle last November, believes there will be enough left of the core of the current team to aid the club in that transition. "We do have players who fit in the middle in terms of age like Manuel Neuer, who also identifies with the club," he said. "[Thomas] Muller, Holger Badstuber, [David] Alaba -- with those around, then there is room for a transition, but some of us are going to disappear in the coming years."
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