“As a coach, you should never be in love with your own game idea”

FC Blau-Weiß Linz arrived in the Bundesliga over the course of the season – and wants to convert the learning process they have undergone into their first home win tomorrow (5 p.m., Hofmann Personal Stadium) at the start of the second half of the regular season against Wolfsberger AC. “We are now a lot further along than we were in the first Bundesliga game against Wolfsberg. We are much clearer. And the unfamiliar surroundings are now part of our everyday life,” says Blue and White coach Gerald Scheiblehner.

In their first appearance in the upper house, he and his team stuck to the successful style of play that has distinguished the club in the second division in recent years. However, it became clear to the 46-year-old relatively quickly that intensive pressing against much better opponents would not lead to success. “The first half of the season was a trough, we started badly. It was a big learning phase, but in which we proved that we are willing and able to learn. We are now much more stable as a team.”

Will it work on the sixth attempt?

Above all, the 5-0 loss in the home game against Rapid was a sticking point – also for the team: “We saw for ourselves that it would be so difficult,” says midfielder Simon Pirkl, whose team was given an adapted plan. Scheiblehner: “As a coach, you should never be in love with your own game idea. We were open to new ideas and have now found something that our team feels comfortable with. If you are stable, you can work towards your preferred direction again.”

His team is putting this into practice well: in the last six league games, the blue-whites have only suffered one defeat – tomorrow, at the sixth attempt, they should also achieve their first three-pointer in the new stadium. Scheiblehner: “We have to confirm our performance, then a victory is possible.”