“Unfortunately, things did not develop as desired, which is why we decided together to provide a new impetus,” explained SCR managing director Christoph Langle in the club’s release. “Joachim and Roman worked hard until the end to get the team on the right track. “It’s never easy to make a decision like this, but given the game’s growth and lack of results, we feel this step is necessary,” said Roland Kirchler, sporting director.

The Tyrolean had already announced an “internal analysis and consultations” on Sunday after the 2-0 defeat at Hartberg, which has now resulted in his release. It is the second time this Bundesliga season that a coach has been sacked early. Four weeks ago, LASK parted ways with Thomas Tarasz.

Standfest came to SCR in March 2023 with coach Klaus Schmidt and was promoted to head coach after Schmidt’s departure. The Vorarlberg team then finished the championship year in tenth place, a position they currently hold. Altach have made a respectable start to the league – two wins in the first three games. However, only two points were collected in the last five games. In the ÖFB Cup, Standfest were already eliminated in the first round after losing 0–2 at third division club Donnafeld.

With Ngwat-Mahop, a person with SCR experience has now been at home in Altach for twelve years. The former striker initially operated as a kicker at the club before ending his active career in 2020. He started his coaching career in the SCR youth team. Since 2022, Ngwat-Mahop has been overseeing the juniors, who play in Regional West.

Now the provisional standings for the Bundesliga are as follows. “Lewis Mahobe has our full support and will prepare the team for Sunday’s important home game. At the same time, we are doing everything we can to find a timely but thoughtful long-term solution for the head coaching position,” Kirchler said.