Pepijn Lijnders‘ big leap into management with Red Bull Salzburg has not gone to plan so far, with the former Liverpool coach facing questions over his future.
Lijnders left Liverpool as part of an exodus led by Jurgen Klopp and was swiftly appointed head coach of Salzburg – joined in Austria by Vitor Matos and Andreas Kornmayer.
The signings of Bobby Clark (£10m) and Stefan Bajcetic (loan) followed, but results have not gone as hoped for Lijnders and his fellow Reds alumni so far.
Four-and-a-half months into his reign, Lijnders’ record stands at: played 21, won 11, drawn five, lost five.
Expected to challenge for the title every season, Salzburg are fourth in the Austrian Bundesliga – 11 points off the top with two games in hand – while a record of one win and three losses in the Champions League sees them 30th in the 36-team table.
Unsurprisingly, there have been question marks raised over Lijnders’ role in the Salzburg dugout – but what has gone wrong and what can we expect to happen?
To get an insight into how Lijnders’ reign so far has gone down in Austria, we spoke to The Other Bundesliga (@OtherBundesliga).
First of all, what was the reaction to Lijnders taking the Salzburg job?
The reaction to Lijnders’ appointment was one of surprise really.
Given his standing at Liverpool, a lot of people thought that this was perhaps a drop down for him, and imagined that he’d be able to immediately take Salzburg back to the top.
It’s safe to say things haven’t gone to plan so far – why is that?
If anyone knew exactly why it wasn’t working out so well, then the problem would be almost solved, but it seems to stem from the defence.
As always, lots of good players have been sold or moved on, but the talent coming through hasn’t been ready to step up and fill the gaps, certainly at Champions League level.
Salzburg are known for pushing forward and playing exciting, attacking football, but they’re missing the linchpin in the middle and the defensive power that they enjoyed in their strongest seasons.
There have been claims of favouritism around Bajcetic and Clark, is that fair?
The favouritism claims stemmed from seeing Clark and Bajcetic going straight into the starting XI for the Champions League opening game, when they hadn’t yet shone in the league.
On the one hand it’s not surprising that the coach would trust players that he knows, but on the other, it’s bound to be seen as a bit of a blow to others who had been competing for those spots in the more traditional Salzburg order, having come up through FC Liefering and then settled in the Bundesliga.
And what expectations are there around Clark as a £10m signing?
The expectations around Clark are rightly quite high.
Salzburg have excelled with players of his age and standing, but usually they would pay much less and then help the players to improve.
When they’ve spent this kind of money in the past, the player has been a more finished article, for example Rasmus Kristensen, who looked like he was playing in a league above the rest at times.
It’ll be hard for Clark to emulate that.
What about the possible influence of Klopp – how has that gone down?
The Klopp news (editor: he will join as Red Bull’s head of global football on January 1) has shocked some here.
There are many Liverpool or Dortmund fans in Austria, and they are as surprised as anyone that he’s gone to the Red Bull empire.
From the Salzburg perspective, I think people felt that Klopp was probably very much available to his friend Lijnders anyway, but now that advice and help can be somewhat more official.
We’re all interested to see how that shapes the team, and the coach going forwards.
Put simply, are Salzburg likely to stick or twist with Lijnders?
We feel that the club will stick by Lijnders.
The Champions League was always going to be tough with a team so young, and although it’s not running too smoothly in the league either, the team are still well-placed for now and they’ll be right in the title hunt.
After bringing in someone with a CV like Lijnders’, especially now Klopp is on board, Salzburg will surely give him time.
• Thanks again to The Other Bundesliga for their insight into Lijnders’ time at Salzburg. You can follow them on Twitter @OtherBundesliga and listen to their podcast on Spotify here.
