Coach's debut

Lustenau want to mobilize everything against Lafnitz

In the first duel with Lafnitz, Namory Cisse (center) & Co. played to a 0-0 draw.(Bild: GEPA)

Grit your teeth, give it your all and, if possible, take a positive result into the vacations. That is Austria's motto for today's game in Lafnitz. New coach Markus Mader wants to send his team into the winter break with a win.

Which doesn't make things any easier: Lustenau traveled to eastern Styria with practically their last squad after Leo Mikic (thigh) and Axel Rouqette (fever), two other players, dropped out at short notice. In addition to the many long-term injuries, two defenders - Robin Voisine and Leo Mätzler - are also missing. Both are suspended. Therefore, one or two amateur players will also be in the squad.

Markus Mader will have to do without Leo Mikic against Lafnitz.(Bild: GEPA)

Markus Mader would certainly have wished for an easier start for his return to the coaching bench. But it is not the coach's place to complain about the current situation. "It's just the way it is now. We're still going to Lafnitz with a broad chest." At least Mader can hope for the much-cited coaching effect.

Opponents battered
In the league opener, Lustenau only managed a 0-0 draw against the Styrians. After three recent heavy defeats (0:12 goals), Austria now face a struggling opponent. That makes the second division bottom team all the more dangerous. Mader: "They know that they need points and that they are up against an opponent who is not exactly brimming with confidence."

The clash is therefore a bit like the famous adversity versus misery. Regardless of the outcome, the real work for the returning coach begins in the winter break anyway. The aim is to set the course for more successful times. Mader is therefore deliberately foregoing a vacation. "I've had enough time off now anyway." Instead, he will throw himself into his preparations for the spring season immediately after the match.