To get used to!

No Salzburg coach was worse than Lijnders

Horrendous record: Pep Lijnders.

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

A statistic to get used to: In terms of points average, Red Bull Salzburg coach Pep Lijnders holds the "red lantern". It is nothing short of a miracle that the Dutchman is still in charge. A game of destiny awaits the 41-year-old on Saturday.

Salzburg fans had better close their eyes to these statistics: If you take a look at the record of all previous head coaches since Red Bull took over in 2005, the team from Mozartstadt is currently experiencing its most difficult phase. In terms of the points average of all coaches, nobody is worse than Pep Lijnders.

In 23 competitive matches, his points average is just 1.65. Even Kurt Jara, who had to contend with a host of teething troubles and a total upheaval in his first season in 2005/06, is ahead of the Dutchman with an average of 1.74 points per game. Even Huub Stevens (1.77) or Peter Zeidler, who was sacked with an average of 1.80, are ahead of Lijnders.

Disastrous figures
A comparison with Gerhard Struber, who was sacked just a few months ago, is also interesting: The Kuchler player averaged 1.94 in 34 games, something his successor can only dream of! Sixth in the table - with two games less - the Bulls are trailing the competition in the league. With just 18 points from twelve games and a goal difference of 16:16, this is also the worst record of the Bulls era.

Lijnders is at the bottom of the league.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

The fact that Lijnders is still in office is nothing short of a miracle. Malicious tongues claim that the miracle goes by the name of Jürgen Klopp. The cult coach, whom Lijnders served as "co" for many years and whom he described as his "big brother", is known to have taken over the role of "Head of Global Soccer", i.e. the main person responsible for soccer at Red Bull, at the start of the year.

Listless performances
"Tulip Pep" can therefore look forward to support that Struber has never had in this form from the highest level. However, it is questionable whether this will save him. A defeat in Hartberg today would see Salzburg slip into the bottom half of the table. As a reminder, the Bulls have never finished lower than second at the end of a season. The team is also under pressure. After numerous listless performances, it is time for the players to take their hearts in their hands and tear themselves apart on the pitch for the club.

„Krone“-Kommentar

Schicksalsspiel für Lijnders

It is now not five to twelve, but five past twelve for the Bulls. If not even later. The performance in the disastrous 0:5 in Leverkusen was so subterranean that it didn't really deserve the word "performance". In the past two months, you often had the feeling after games that things couldn't get any worse. Salzburg, however, repeatedly proved the opposite "impressively".

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

How much longer will the club's top management stand by and watch? Today (17), the Bulls face mid-table Hartberg in the Bundesliga. And the game against the team from Eastern Styria could turn out to be a fateful match for coach Pep Lijnders. It feels like his last chance. If he loses another point, a change in personnel seems inevitable.

Because then the gap to the top would continue to grow and the goal of the championship title would move further and further into the distance. And one thing is also clear: the Dutchman can no longer complain about having too few chances. A Gerhard Struber would have had to vacate his position long ago in a crisis like this.

A positive omen for Lijnders and the Bulls: They have never lost to Hartberg in the Bundesliga, picking up 15 wins from 16 games. Normally, it can be assumed that Alex Schlager and Co. will build on this positive record. But what is normal this season?