At Austria Lustenau

Full backing for coach Martin Brenner

Austria coach Martin Brenner has the full confidence of the club management.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Despite the less than stellar results in League Two since their relegation from the Bundesliga, Austria Lustenau sporting director Stephan Muxel is very satisfied with the team's development. The same applies to coach Martin Brenner, who has recently come in for some criticism.

Only a thousand spectators in the Cup, recently 1500 in the league - plus individual whistles in the stadium after the 0:1 defeat against Amstetten and plenty of expressions of displeasure in the Lustenau fan forum. Even goalkeeper Domenik Schierl recently complained that the team did not have the ambition to play at the top at the moment. From the outside, the mood at Austria seemed better.

Austria goalkeeper Domenik Schierl has always liked to speak plainly.

(Bild: Sky Screenshot)

Head of Sport Stephan Muxel takes a completely different view. Internally, he is very satisfied: "We have a good squad that is developing really well. I am convinced that 90 percent of this year's team will also play for us next season. With Delaye, Diarra and others, we have great players in our ranks," clarifies Muxel. Schierl's statements were also made out of emotion. Of course they would have liked more wins and goals. "But we've only lost one game. And we also have a lot of injured players, which doesn't make the situation easy," argues the sports director.

For Muxel, the fact that the strikers are not scoring is also down to a lack of self-confidence. "I was a striker myself and know what it means when you don't take your chances."

Austria sports director Mirco Papaleo sees a good atmosphere at the professional training sessions.

(Bild: Austria Lustenau)

No discussion
Coach Martin Brenner, who has recently come in for criticism from the fans, also enjoys full backing. "He is still a young coach who will make his way. There's no discussion about that. I'm always at the training sessions. The atmosphere is good, there's a lot going on." Sports director Mirco Papaleo echoes this sentiment. "I watch the training sessions and see that the work is going very well." Stephan Muxel leaves it open whether there will be any changes to the squad in the winter.

In addition to the above story, Dietmar Hofer, Austria Lustenau expert for the "Krone", has also written a column:

Anyone scrolling through the Austria fan forum will recognize that the loyal supporters of Lustenau are giving a lot of thought to the current development of the club close to their hearts. It is almost unanimous that they are not very satisfied with the way soccer is currently being played. In twelve league rounds, they have only managed three wins, have never won at home and have only scored four goals. Too little for the demands of a team relegated from the Bundesliga and for the spectators who make the extra trip to Bregenz.

It is up to the club to decide whether this should set alarm bells ringing or whether they prefer to see everything in balance. It is those responsible who have to assess the work on a daily basis. In this respect, their results are far more positive than the results on the pitch. The spectators as paying customers do not have this insight, they only see what happens on the pitch and react in their own way. For example, by coming to the stadium less and less.

However, it is fundamentally important for Austria that the connection to the fans is not lost. Because it is deceptive to rely on the fact that the euphoria will automatically return with the new stadium. The decisive factor is always how a team (and its coach) performs. And in this respect, there is definitely still a lot of room for improvement.