Former Liverpool assistant and briefly NEC head coach Pep Lijnders has been sacked by Austrian club RB Salzburg. Jürgen Klopp’s former number two on Merseyside has been named head coach of the successful Austrian side. However, after just six months, Lijnders was sacked by the club. The Dutch head coach had signed a deal with franchise club Red Bull until 2027, but poor performances in Europe and domestically saw the board resign him from his role.
This was Lijnders’ second foray into a head coaching role. Between January 2018 and May 2018, he managed the NEC, then in the second division of Dutch football. Lijnders managed the team for 22 matches, winning 11, drawing four and losing seven. His main task was to take the team to the Eredivisie, and they got their chance through the play-off system. However, in their first match they lost 4–0 away to FC Emmen. Despite scoring four goals at home, the team also conceded one and were eliminated. As a result, the club parted ways with Lijnders and he returned to Liverpool.
Lijnders leaves Salzburg with a record of 28 successful matches, 13 won, seven draws and eight lost. He only managed to guide the team to one Champions League victory, with five defeats. Despite a 3-0 win over Austria Klagenfurt at the weekend, the team parted ways with Lijnders ahead of their Champions League clash with Real Madrid after the winter break.