For the future

Questions that Lustenau must ask themselves

Leo Mätzler (right) & Co. have lagged a little behind so far this season.(Bild: GEPA)

Lustenauer Austria is simply not getting going this season. The situation needs to be analyzed in detail in winter at the latest. Today, the Green-Whites play a test match at home against Schaffhausen.

There are still three rounds to play in the second division in the fall and Lustenau will face three table stragglers in Stripfing, Voitsberg and Lafnitz. Before that, however, a test match against Swiss Challenge League club FC Schaffhausen is scheduled for 1pm today in the Rhine foreland. Regardless of the results of the last few games, it is important to carry out a precise analysis at the latest at the start of the winter break. After all, there were a number of areas of concern over the course of the fall:

Coach: Martin Brenner took up his first position as a professional coach with the mission of playing attractive attacking football. "Under me, it's all full throttle. It's about winning and nothing else," were his words. However, only ten goals in 13 games and the personified harmlessness in front of goal speak a different language. Either the system doesn't work or the players can't implement it properly.

Martin Brenner has not yet been able to fully instill his idea of the game in the players.(Bild: GEPA)

Team: Austria have nine players with Bundesliga experience in their ranks. With William and Chabbi, two experienced players have also been added. The team is therefore not as young and untrained as it is made out to be. There are hardly any mechanisms that work on the pitch, especially up front, let alone real driving forces. There is also a lack of an axis that forms the heart of every successful team.

Development: "Martin is a coach who can and wants to work with young players." This is how board spokesman Bernd Bösch introduced the coach at the end of May. And you can't deny that the coach tries to push and motivate his boys every day in training. From the outside, however, it seems that the team has taken a step backwards rather than forwards over the course of the season. Either the potential has not yet been unlocked or some of the players simply don't have it.

Injuries: Over the course of the season, nine players have already been absent due to injury. It needs to be questioned whether this accumulation is simply bad luck and coincidence or whether there is room for improvement in terms of prevention and recovery.