Football Season Guide

St.Polten were never relegated from the top flight after winning promotion back in 2016, but stayed up by the skin of their teeth on several occasions and this was also the case last season. Handed a transfer ban before the season started, they were able only to sign players during the winter transfer window, but this did not bring the expected improvement and only after the appointment of Robert Ibertsberger did they manage to steer themselves towards safety. Ibertsberger has built himself a reputation as somewhat of a crisis management specialist, having had successful caretaker stints with several Bundesliga clubs, but will now have an opportunity to show that he can also deliver over an entire season. Several regular players have left the club, including Sandro Ingolitsch, Luca Meisl and Cory Burke, while Kwang Ryong Pak, who had an injury-ridden season but payed well when available, has also left. The limited finances mean that the Wolf Pack are always unlikely to sign many proven Bundesliga players, but the likes of Christoph Halper, Alex Schmidt, Patrick Puchegger and Michael Blaunsteiner all have some experience of playing in the division and will be hoping to establish themselves now. With several established players leaving, their squad seems to be a touch weaker than last time around, but they will start the season with some positive momentum from the late stages of the previous campaign. It is hard to not see the Wolf Pack as one of the candidates to go down but, if Ibertsberger proves as competent over the course of a season as he is over a few months, they should be Okay.