Pep Lijnders sacked as RB Salzburg head coach

Pep Lijnders has been sacked as head coach of RB Salzburg after six months in charge.

The 41-year-old took charge of the club following his departure from Liverpool at the end of last season, where he was assistant manager under Jurgen Klopp.

Salzburg won 10 Austrian Bundesliga titles in a row until last season – where they finished second – but this year they are currently fifth in the table and are 10 points away from leaders and current title holders Sturm Graz.

The team are also in the elimination places in the Champions League, having only won one game out of six during the campaign.

A joint statement from CEO Stephan Reiter and Managing Director of Sport Rouven Schroder on the club website said: “We began recently to analyse, as planned, what has unfortunately not been a satisfactory season so far.

“It was clear to see that in many of our matches we have been far short of our own requirements and aims.

“We have therefore become convinced that our team needs a new impulse under new management, even if we continued to hope for a turnaround until the end.

“We would like to thank Pep for his work. He put a lot of effort and passion into it and has provided important momentum for our further development.

“We are now very intensively looking for a new coach and will communicate as soon as a decision is made. We clearly want to start training again on 3 January 2025 with our new coach in place.”