The Dutchman's position is hanging by a thread following a third straight defeat which chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge described as the "lowest point" of the season.

The loss followed last weekend's league defeat to Borussia Dortmund and came just days after they were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal by Schalke.

A defiant Van Gaal said afterwards: "I have always felt the backing of my board and it is up to them to decide whether I still have this backing.

"Of course everybody here is disappointed. The last time I had such a difficult phase was when I was coach in Barcelona.

"In the space of 10 days, we have thrown a lot away and of course the pressure increases."

Mohammed Abddellaoue put Hannover in front in the 16th minute and Konstantin Rausch added a second early in the second half.

Arjen Robben pulled one back for Bayern almost immediately, but Sergio Pinto's goal in the 62nd minute ended their hopes of recovering.

Bayern also finished with 10 men following the dismissal of Brazilian centre-half Breno in the 73rd minute.

Rummenigge said: "We have had a catastrophic eight days.

"How we played today was absolutely the lowest point of the season. I have to say that clearly and plainly.

"We are all disappointed about the game and the result, but we have all been around long enough to know that after such a game we first have to spend the night mulling it over.

"No one will probably be able to sleep, but at least we have to analyse calmly what we can and have to do to stop the rot.

"Bayern are at the moment in a situation which causes us a lot of concern."

Bayer Leverkusen moved back to within 12 points of runaway leaders Dortmund - who beat Cologne last night - with a 3-0 defeat of Wolfsburg, Lars Bender, Renato Augusto and Stefan Kiessling all netting for the home side.

Christian Eigler scored four times as Nurnberg moved up to sixth with a 5-0 thrashing of St Pauli.

Philipp Wollscheid put Nurnberg ahead after three minutes before Eigler, who was only starting because of an injury to top-scorer Julian Schieber, struck in the 14th and 17th minutes to make it 3-0.

Eigler completed his hat-trick in the 86th minute and added a fourth a minute later.

Zdravko Kuzmanovic's early penalty was enough for Stuttgart to beat 10-man Schalke 1-0 and move out of the relegation zone.

Kuzmanovic converted from the spot in the 15th minute after Benedikt Howedes was adjudged to have handled Tamas Hajnal's shot - an offence for which he was shown a red card.

Rock-bottom Borussia Monchengladbach also enjoyed a vital win as Igor de Camargo scored and won a penalty in a 2-0 defeat of Hoffenheim.

Filip Daems netted the opener from the spot 20 minutes into the second half and De Camargo clinched the win five minutes later as Monchengladbach moved to within three points of safety.

Kaiserslautern remain third from bottom after a goalless draw at Eintracht Frankfurt.