Germany take on minnows San Marino and Slovakia early next month as part of their qualifying campaign, but with his side top of Group D Low is already thinking ahead to the June 2008 European finals in Switzerland and Austria.

"We will be more demanding on the players next season," he said. "We will be increasing the pressure on them and all players likely to figure in the team will have personal fitness goals to attain.

"Every player must make some progress and we are going to keep a close eye on their development."

And after VfB Stuttgart were crowned German champions on Saturday by winning the Bundesliga title, Low believes Germany's third-place finish at last year's World Cup has had a positive impact on their domestic football.

"Many coaches were interested in our physical preparation programs and our tactical approach, they adopted a certain number of things which we did during the World Cup," said Low, who was assistant to head coach Juergen Klinsmann during the last World Cup. Low praised his former club Stuttgart, who he coached for nearly two years in the late 1990s, and their coach Armin Veh for their unexpected success with a team containing an average age of less than 25.

"Stuttgart surprised a few people," said Low. "They are a strong attacking side and have a good balance between youth and more experienced players."

But Low, who has criticised Bundesliga standards this season, said Germany's top sides still have some way to go to match Europe's top domestic teams.

"There is still a way to go when you look at the standard achieved by teams in the Champions League semifinals," he said.

"We still have some work to do if we are going to reach those levels."