It is quite common for Austrian clubs to look like two completely different sides in the first and the second half of the season, with Mattersburg being the side that improved the most during the winter break this campaign.
The Burgerlanders entered the season looking to stop the rot from the late stages of the 2015/16 campaign, which they started brilliantly but eventually managed to stay up only thanks to the points they accumulated early on, as their form in the second half of the season was abysmal. One could argue that Ivica Vastic was already on borrowed time going into the new season and the board's decision to stick with the former Austrian international started to raise a lot of eyebrows when it became obvious that Mattersburg's rut has continued in the new campaign. Despite showing the occasional sign of life, Mattesburg were poor in the majority of the autumn season and ended it at the bottom of the table, four points below safety.
The board knew that drastic measures would have to be made during the winter and acted accordingly, replacing Vastic with former Austria Vienna manager Gerald Baumgartner, while also bringing in two attacking players in Stefan Maierhofer and David Atanga.
The winter changes worked like a charm, as Mattersburg were a completely different side in the second half of the season and actually had the fourth-best record in the entire league, when counting only the spring season. Their home form in the current spring has been particularly impressive and, despite starting the second half of the season trialing in the race for survival, they managed to finish seventh and secure their survival with games to spare.
All things considered, their situation is the polar opposite of what it was a year ago, as they now have momentum on their side and their fans will likely be eagerly anticipating the kick-off of the new season.
