Completely out of form

“Certainly not throwing away our nerves”

Schwaighofer (left) and his teammates are not doing well, but chairman Rettenbacher remains calm.(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

Austria Salzburg have fallen behind in the battle for promotion to the second division. The Violets are now four points behind rivals Imst. Chairman David Rettenbacher does not rule out personnel changes.

Only the admission procedure can stop us," was probably the mood at Austria Salzburg a few weeks ago. However, after several weeks at the top of the Western League table, the reigning champions are now clearly dissatisfied. Imst, their only rivals for promotion to the 2nd division, are already four points in front and the Maxglaner's big dream is in danger. In addition, there have been a series of poor performances that give little hope. In the three games against the three other current top four teams (Imst, Reichenau and Dornbirn), they only scored one point.

The mood at Austria has not been as good as it was in June for a long time.(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

"That has become apparent. It's not as easy for us as it was before," says chairman David Rettenbacher, who emphasizes: "There are phases like this in a season. Until the winter break, we'll make sure that we definitely don't let the gap get any bigger, and in the best-case scenario we'll even reduce it." And if not? "Then we'll continue to work hard and calmly and certainly not throw away our nerves."

Nevertheless, there will be a major analysis after the end of the fall season. Rettenbacher is not ruling out personnel changes. "That's part of this analysis. There are always people who are unhappy and want to leave the club of their own accord." According to information from Krone, there are internal disagreements between the team and the coaching team led by long-term coach Christian Schaider.

"We are in contact"
The chairman reassures. "One or two players may not get the playing time they would like. But it's all within a normal framework," says Rettenbacher, who is unperturbed by external criticism - in the forums or on social networks. "We are in constant communication with our fans. We don't feel any pressure from outside. If we do, we do it ourselves." However, if the sporting trend does not reverse, the situation will definitely become even more tense.

Austria will submit an audited balance sheet and key financial figures on November 15. As things stand, soccer is the biggest stumbling block on the road to the 2nd division.