December 16, (THEWILL) – RB Salzburg has terminated the contract of Dutch manager, Pepijn Lijnders, the Austrian club confirmed on Monday.
Lijnders, who was appointed in May 2023, was dismissed following a challenging first half of the season that left the team struggling in both the domestic league and UEFA Champions League.
The 41-year-old former Liverpool assistant coach started the season promisingly with three consecutive league victories.
However, his team managed only four wins in the subsequent 13 matches, resulting in Salzburg’s fifth-place position in the Austrian Bundesliga standings.
Despite recent wins, including a 3-0 victory over Austria Klagenfurt, the club decided to part ways with the manager.
In an official statement, Salzburg acknowledged Lijnders’ achievement of qualifying for the UCL while highlighting the team’s unsatisfactory performances.
The club noted they are now 10 points behind the league leaders and have lost five of six UCL matches, currently ranking 32nd in the competition.
The Austrian league is currently on a winter break, set to resume in February.
However, Salzburg will continue their European campaign in January with two remaining matches against Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
The club has committed to finding a new manager quickly, aiming to begin training on January 3rd with a new head coach in place.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
