Austria are coming from a season that can only be described as a complete disaster, having struggled both domestically and in Europe.
The sole positive regarding the Violets' campaign was the fact that they managed to make the group stage of the Europa League, but they cannot be fully happy with their European campaign, having failed to make it out of what was not a particularly difficult group.
They started their domestic campaign by showing plenty of promise, but things started to get worse over time, with their home form in particular being shocking. It is not difficult to pinpoint the reason for this, as Austria allowed numerous important players to leave without replacing them, while also having to deal with an injury crisis, with numerous regulars, particularly in defence, being ruled out for months.
Thorsten Fink was therefore forced to name makeshift defences on numerous occasions late in the autumn season, with the club only opting to bring in new defenders during the winter, which was five months too late.
The Violets continued to struggle in the second half of the season, with their results costing Fink his job, with the results improving marginally under caretaker Thomas Letsch, but not enough for them to finish inside the top half.
Despite his failure to deliver European football, Letsch has been named their manager for the upcoming season. With a new manager in charge and key men such as Raphael Holzhauser and Felipe Pires set to leave this summer, the Violets have a busy summer ahead of them.
