St.Polten entered the season with their only objective being to escape the drop and were the league's biggest surprise early on, as they were playing outstanding football and did not record a single defeat until the seventh round, when they were beaten by Salzburg.
Unfortunately for the Wolf Pack, the heroics produced by Didi Kuhbauer did not go unnoticed, and their highly-rated manager left them to take over at Rapid midway through the autumn season and it did not take long for their form to start declining.
His replacement Ranko Popovic somehow survived a vote of confidence by the board early in the spring season, but it is clear that the points accumulated under Kuhbauer were the only reason why the Wolf Pack did not end up in the Relegation Group and battling against the drop.
The frequent injuries they had in the spring season did not really help their battle for an European place, but things were not much better even when they had most of their players fit.
It seems rather clear that, following Kuhbauer's departure, St.Polten reverted back to playing like relegation candidates that they were always expected to be. With the points accumulated under their ex-manager no longer being a factor next season, it is hard to see the Wolf Pack not struggling next time around.
