As Michael Wimmer walked into his new club, his air of idealism could have been punctured almost immediately, as the situation he faced was described to him starkly at his maiden press conference as a ‘powderkeg’.
The rookie coach would have to contend with a shortage of money, and an angry fanbase on the verge of revolt.
No, this wasn’t the German’s jarring introduction to life at Fir Park after Motherwell confirmed him as their new manager today, but the scene which greeted him as he took on his first permanent role as a head coach in his own right at Austria Wien.
Healing the wounds that are still raw following the departure of his predecessor Stuart Kettlewell in Lanarkshire then, and bringing the club and the Motherwell support back onto the same page, should be a comparative breeze for the 44-year-old.
He kicked off that process by promising the Steelmen support a team who ‘play with a lot of energy, play proactive football, that are pressing high and that control games’.
“We want to have fun together with the fans,” Wimmer added, something that has been in short supply round Fir Park way over the last few months.
With that in mind, and given what he managed to achieve and how he is now fondly remembered at Austria Wien, it is no surprise to Tom Middler - Austrian football expert and host of podcast ‘The Other Bundesliga’ - that Motherwell have jumped at the chance to appoint Wimmer,
“This was a team that were on the brink of financial collapse,” Middler said.
“They were in real trouble. It was very difficult for the club to even get their license to play in the league. So, it was hardly a team that was stable off the field. And generally, it was a club where they'd lost the identification with their fans.
“The home fans didn't really want to be there. They were really disappointed with the way the club had been running. And I think the biggest thing for him at Austria Wien was to get the fans back on side.
“He really came to identify with the club. He's a new manager, he loves the job, he's really proud to be doing the job. And he really brought the fans back. So, I think that's why he is remembered so fondly.
“He really identified with fans, identified with the tradition of the club, and kept everybody on side. Which was quite a good balance for him to be able to pull off in incredibly difficult circumstances.”
Given the Motherwell board’s success in keeping the identity of their new manager under wraps, the Fir Park fanbase likely spent a good portion of their day boning up on the basic information around Wimmer and his preferred style of play.
While he has promised high pressing and energetic football, there may have been a few shudders running up spines as they learnt that Wimmer prefers his teams to operate with a back three, a set up that many of them had grown weary of under their previous manager.
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As Middleton explains though, there are nuances within there that should appeal to Motherwell supporters, while his ability to wring more from the players already within his squad should also prick up some ears.
“He liked tough-tackling centre-backs, quite a no-nonsense back three,” he said.
“He would though usually have at least one player, one of the younger players with a bit more speed and maybe a bit more agility at the back as well, to protect against counters.
“The back three was his philosophy, he stuck with the back three, but he tried to add a bit more width in the midfield as well. He brought in a couple of players, or utilised a couple of squad members, who were a bit pacier down the wings.
“Then he had Haris Tabakovic as forward, as kind of a target man. And a couple of years ago, that was seen as a little bit old school, I guess. But he used that for a bit of added physicality in the Bundesliga.
“Tabakovic was a good example of how Michael can work with the tools he has at his disposal. He had this forward who wasn't performing. He just wasn't playing well at all. None of the fans really rated him. Basically, Tabakovic was just a kind of squad player that was brought in for a couple of hundred thousand and wasn't really doing anything.
“Wimmer re-invented this guy as a target man. He started holding up the play really well. He started scoring loads of goals. That's also one of the things that fans remember Michael for now.
“Then, honestly, that success worked towards his downfall, because Tabakovic was quickly sold for a small profit. It didn't really help them. They couldn't bring anyone else back in.
“But it was pretty much Michael Wimmer who was credited with reinventing this centre forward and turning him into a dangerous player as his target man.
“So, that is another thing to remember. He had some of the best players sold from underneath as well. There was nothing he could do about it.”
That led to a disappointing second campaign for Wimmer before he was ultimately – and reluctantly – relieved of his duties by The Violets last summer.
“Ultimately, the second season that he had, he didn't qualify for the top six,” Middler explained.
“That was a really difficult one. You've got to be in the top six in Austria to continue playing big games and to have Europe as a viable option.
“So, they were pretty unlucky. And then with the bottom six, they were always going to finish top of the bottom six group. I think the players lost a bit of the excitement.
“It meant that the last few months, all the games were against small teams. The players didn't really turn up and play brilliantly in those games either. So, they sort of limped over the line a little bit. And then he was sacked before the European playoffs at the end of that campaign.
“But overall, because of the way that he identified with the club and with the fans, most of the fans here thought that it was a bad move to get rid of him.
“They were disappointed to have lost this coach who brought their enjoyment back to the club. They didn't want him to leave.
“Funnily enough, the club are now flying at the top of the Bundesliga, but he is looked upon as the guy that sort of kickstarted that whole process.
“He did well with free transfers of some young talents and some of them are still in the team and some have now been sold on for good profit.
“He seems to like working with players and they certainly seem to like working with him.
“After some pretty vitriolic years, he really seemed to gel that whole club together again. So, it would seem that he would be a pretty good fit for Motherwell.”
