FC Augsburg managing director Michael Ströll and club sporting director Benjamin Weber have released their official statements on the sacking of head coach Sandro Wagner. Unsurprisingly enough, the two Bundesliga administrators cited Wagner’s posture toward his players as one reason why the 38-year-old was let go.
Wagner’s statements after the latest humiliating league loss to Hoffenheim very much appeared to suggest that the rift with the locker room could not be healed. In the Monday print edition of Kicker Magazine, Augsburg midfielder Elvis Rexhbecaj’s quotes from the mixed zone on Saturday afternoon conveyed that morale was at rock bottom.
“We just need to start over again,” Rexhbecaj is quoted as saying. “But, if you start over again every week, one has to keep explaining oneself. You can’t always say it’s because of the system or because of this or that. It’s simply unacceptable that the opponent shows more determination on the pitch than us. Everyone needs to take a look at themselves.“
Ströll and Weber noted that this collective autopsy revealed that the club could not carry on with Wagner. The fact that more experienced former Augsburg head coach Manuel Baum was waiting in the wings to take over may have also played a role in the decision to sack Wagner with three matches remaining before the winter break.
“In discussions after the game in Hoffenheim, we realized that there is a lack of belief and conviction that we can turn things around in the current situation,” Ströll noted in his club statement.
“As a club, we are convinced of the path we have chosen and will continue to pursue it,” Weber added. “Now it’s time to gain stability and pick up points in the upcoming games.”
