Football Season Guide

Admira could have hardly escaped the drop in a more dramatic manner - as they beat the drop thanks to a draw at Tirol in the final round, when a defeat would have relegated them (although it later turned out that they would have stayed up anyway due to Mattersburg's bankruptcy). Zvonimir Soldo had therefore managed to deliver on the job that he was hired to do and help the Modlingers stay up and he is now preparing for his first full season in charge. Numerous players who missed large sections of the season with injuries were allowed to leave, as have several men who lost their regular places under Zoldo, such as Seth Paintsil. However, Admira have also lost three rather important players in Markus Lackner and Mario Pavelic, both back with their parent clubs following the ends of their loans, and Sinan Bakis, with their last season's top scorer set to continue his career in Netherlands. As is usually the case with the Modlingers, their list of arrivals contains hardly any players with top flight experience - they have once again gone for a scatter gun approach and could reportedly complete several other signings before the season starts. What is clear is that, unless they unearth a real gem or two in the summer transfer window, they will once again be a plucky side with a competent manager but not much in terms of squad quality. After the heroics they had in the middle of the previous decade, they have recently been reducing to what most would describe as their actual level, which is battling for Bundesliga survival. They have escaped the drop by the skin of their teeth in each of their last two season and will once again be tipped to battle for survival.