Champions group is calling

Despite points record: No win ban for Hartberg!

Nothing more can happen! With a win on Sunday (17) at WSG Tirol, Hartberg can secure their place in the championship group in the penultimate round of the basic round. For the second time in the club's history. If they succeed, both the club and the team will benefit.

However, the team from Eastern Styria are not quite confident yet. They have a four-point lead over seventh-placed WAC, who are doomed to win at Sturm on Sunday. But the devil never sleeps. "There were results in the last round that we didn't expect," says chairman Erich Korherr, putting on the euphoria brakes and recalling Wolfsberg's 1:0 away win at LASK. Markus Schopp, whose men could also be satisfied with a draw if WAC don't score in full, is blowing the same horn. "We're not thinking about that, we've now played 20 rounds and had a strong season, even if it's not enough to make it into the Champions League. We want to get as many points as possible to finish ahead of LASK. That's realistic," explains the Hartberg coach.

Cashier is not moaning yet
The league runners-up have collected an impressive 33 points so far, a record in the Bundesliga history of the team from Eastern Styria. The club treasurer must be burning like a chandelier, but according to Korherr he is not yet crying hallelujah. "That's not a problem, we drew up a certain points budget before the season", Hartberg is not running on empty after the super season.

But one thing is certain: if the club is in the championship group in the spring, there will also be a bonus for the professionals. "The bonuses in the championship group would be higher than in the basic round. But we would be happy to pay them," winks the TSV boss. After all, the club also benefits from it. Sturm, Rapid and Salzburg attract more fans to the stadium than Lustenau and co: Next Sunday's derby against Sturm is already sold out.

Whether the outsiders finish first or sixth in the championship group makes no difference to the players' wallets. "There is no bonus for reaching a European Cup place," says Korherr. The team would only get a slice of the money pie if they took part in an international competition. Still dreams of the future, the aim now is to finish in the top six. Whether the outdated stadium would even be suitable for the European Cup is another matter anyway.