Bobby Clark sends classy message to Pep Lijnders after ex-Liverpool assistant's brutal firing
Bobby Clark has sent a classy message to Pep Lijnders after the former Liverpool assistant was fired by Red Bull Salzburg this week.
Lijnders lost his job after a difficult few months in Austria, having only made the move to Salzburg after leaving Liverpool during the summer. His assistant Vitor Matos, who he took with him from his time at Anfield, has also been relieved of his duties.
Salzburg was Lijnders’ first management job since he departed Liverpool as part of Jurgen Klopp’s staff, but his time in the Austrian Bundesliga did not go according to plan. He leaves the club fifth in the division, having lost four of his 16 league games in charge, while their exit from the Champions League is almost guaranteed after winning just one of their six games in Europe so far.
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Clark was one of two Liverpool players signed by Lijnders during the summer, with the midfielder making a surprise permanent switch in a $13m (£10m/€12m) deal. Stefan Bajcetic also joined on loan as the former Reds assistant looked to make his mark.
Things haven’t gone to plan for Clark since his transfer though, with the 19-year-old having only made five league starts so far this season. He actually scored his first goal for the club at the weekend during a 3-0 win over Austria Klagenfurt - although it wouldn’t be enough to save Lijnders his job.
Reacting to the news of his manager’s departure, Clark posted a picture of himself and Lijnders to his Instagram story on Monday along with the message: “Good luck in the future. Thank you for your trust in me.”
Salzburg has already begun its search for a replacement for Lijnders, with a joint statement from CEO Stephan Reiter and managing director of sport Rouven Schroder outlining their intention to have a new manager in place for the New Year.
"We began our announced analysis of an unfortunately unsatisfactory autumn season some time ago," the statement said. "It was clear that we were far from our own expectations and goals in far too many games.
"Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that our team needed a new impetus under new leadership, even though we were still hoping for a turnaround right up until the end. We would like to thank Pep for his work. He invested a lot of commitment and passion and also gave us important impulses for further development.
"We are now working very intensively on the search for a coach and will announce it as soon as a decision has been made. It is clear that we want to start training with our new coach on January 3, 2025."