Sturm have been searching for stability ever since losing manager Franco Foda in the middle of the 2017/18 season.
They appointed Nestor El Maestro hoping for the Serbian manager to deliver good results with the attacking principles that he shares with the Grazers as a club.
The early signs were somewhat promising, with Sturm performing reasonably well in the early stages of the campaign, but their displays were missing something more often than not - when they won, they struggled, when they lost, they lost heavily.
Things started to turn sour as the season progressed and, while Sturm managed to reach the Championship Group, they went on to perform abysmally there, having lost all of their games bar one, in which they beat Hartberg.
The form of Kiril Despodov was peppering over the cracks earlier in the campaign and it was a free-kick brace by the Bulgarian that got Sturm their sole win in the Championship Group.
Had it not been for his magic, Sturm would have probably entered a major crisis far earlier, but, with things way they are, it was enough for El Maestro to keep his job until very late in the campaign.
Their sixth-placed finish means that they will not be in Europe next season and they once again face a period of uncertainty. They appointed Christian Ilzer their new manager - this is a very good fit on paper but it remains to be seen if it will work.
