Friday comes Admira

GAK before promotion: “We want to finish it now!”

Daniel Maderner (left) and the GAK are probably unstoppable on their way to promotion.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

GAK's return to the Bundesliga is only a matter of time. It could be as early as this weekend. To do so, the leaders must at least score against Admira on Friday and hope for a slip-up from runners-up Ried. Goalie Jakob Meierhofer is not bothered by arithmetic.

Four points are still missing! Then GAK will have secured promotion to the Bundesliga on their own. But it could be as far as that this weekend - if Ried "play along" at Vienna on Sunday and the Messner eleven themselves also make their mark.

Possible scenarios

• If GAK win against Admira on Friday and Ried lose at Vienna on Sunday, the "Red Jackets" will already be champions and will be promoted to the Bundesliga.
• If GAK draws against Admira on Friday, Ried must lose at Vienna on Sunday so that the "Red Jackets" celebrate promotion.
• If GAK lose to Admira on Friday, the championship will not be decided this weekend.

"I'd be lying if I said you don't notice it. Less so in the dressing room. But you get asked about it by family, friends or neighbors - you can't avoid it," says Jakob Meierhofer, not even getting involved in these arithmetic games. Like the rest of the team, the goalkeeper's focus is on his own game. However, the 26-year-old does have one wish: "To secure promotion not in front of the TV, but with your own game and all the fans in the stadium. That would be really cool. But there's no question: we'd be happy either way."

The red fans are ready for the big promotion party.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The lead is currently eleven points. Five games are still to play. Admira come to Graz on Friday (20:30). "A good team in terms of play who found their form in the spring," says Meierhofer. In the second half of the season, the Südstädter picked up an impressive 23 points in ten games (GAK 21) - the best result in the league.

"Wins have provided relief"
After a slight dip with two winless games in a row, GAK has recently returned to winning ways. "The two wins against St. Pölten and Bregenz have provided a certain amount of relief. That was hugely important," says the goalkeeper, who is already looking forward to today's home game. "The days are passing so slowly at the moment, I can't wait. We want to finish it off!"

Goalie Jakob Meierhofer is not bothered by the arithmetic.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Murat Satin, Markus Rusek and Paolo Jager, who are currently working on their comeback from injury, are almost certainly out of contention for Friday's match. And there is still a question mark over the involvement of defensive boss Milos Jovicic - this will probably only be decided shortly before the clash with Admira.