Ritscher takes over

Big bang! Sageder has to leave as LASK coach

Thomas Sageder is history as coach at LASK!(Bild: APA/EXPA/UWE WINTER)

Over and out - after around 10 months, Thomas Sageder is history as coach at LASK! As the Athletiker announced on Wednesday, after "an in-depth analysis of the current sporting situation", the decision was made to make a change in the coaching position.

"We didn't take this decision lightly. However, recent sporting developments have now prompted us to give the team a new impetus," said LASK managing director Radovan Vujanovic. The task now is to roll up our sleeves together and get the best out of the remaining seven rounds.

"We were convinced until the end that we were on the right path with Thomas Sageder. He gave everything for LASK until the very end and invested an enormous amount of energy," said LASK boss Siegmund Gruber in an initial statement.

Ritscher "knows the club and team very well"!
Former assistant coach Maximilian Ritscher has been appointed as interim head coach. The man from Lienz is just 30 years old, but "he knows the club and the team very well, already has plenty of experience in the professional game and enjoys our full confidence," said Gruber, expressing his conviction in the new man.

Maximilian Ritscher(Bild: GEPA)

Ritscher, holder of the UEFA A license, will be supported by LASK academy manager Thomas Darasz - the previous assistants Marcel Lücke and Christoph Tebel, however, are no longer part of the coaching team.

Only two wins since the beginning of December
And time is of the essence, with the goal of third place still to be achieved in the remaining seven rounds of the season. After the recent 0:1 at Sturm Graz, LASK slipped out of the top three for the first time since the sixth round, with no results since the winter break. The cup defeat to Salzburg was followed by eight league games with just one win, with only three goals scored.

The dependence on captain Robert Zulj, who was often absent in the spring, became apparent. Sageder has looked ailing of late and has repeatedly had to justify himself for public criticism. "We're doing a good job, the chemistry in the team is right," said Sageder last Sunday. But now the club has pulled the ripcord.

The now ex-coach Sageder only took over at LASK last summer as the successor to Dietmar Kühbauer. In 37 competitive matches since then, his team had won 15 and drawn 10, but also lost 12 times ...