The decision was “not made easy,” said sports director Radovan Vujanovic in a broadcast three days before the home game against champions Salzburg. “Recent sporting developments have now prompted us to give the team a new impetus. It’s now a matter of rolling up our sleeves together and getting the most out of the remaining seven rounds.”
The 30-year-old Ritscher, who previously served as Sageder’s assistant, is apparently capable of this. The former Carinthian second division player is supported by former Austria Vienna player Thomas Darazs (46), who will return to his original role as academy director in the summer. “Maximilian Ritscher was the obvious solution for us. He knows the club and the team very well, already has a lot of experience in the professional business and enjoys our full trust,” said club president Siegmund Gruber.
Time is of the essence; the goal for the season is to secure third place in the remaining seven rounds. After the recent 0-1 loss at Sturm Graz, LASK slipped out of the top 3 for the first time since the sixth round, and there had been no results since the winter break. The cup exit against Salzburg was followed by eight league games with just one win (1-0 against Klagenfurt), with only three goals scored. The dependence on captain Robert Zulj, who was often missing in the spring, became obvious.
Sageder recently seemed ailing and had to repeatedly justify public criticism. “We’re doing a good job, the chemistry in the team is right,” said Sageder last Sunday. But now the club pulled the ripcord. “We were convinced of our shared path with Thomas Sageder until the very end. He gave everything for LASK right up to the end and invested an enormous amount of energy. “Nevertheless, we are now looking forward positively and hope to release our strength for the last seven games in the championship group,” said Gruber.