Altach players also complain about schedule: "Not optimal for us"

While most of Austria was fighting a battle with their alarm clocks on Monday morning, SCR Altach was just arriving back home.

Resting from the duels on the pitch was primarily on the bus, as the preparation week is short. Already on Friday evening, the Vorarlberg team will open the second round of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga against WSG Tirol.

Not only for the fans is this a suboptimal schedule. The few fans who still endured the difficult circumstances for their second-longest away trip of the season – only Favoriten is a few kilometers further east – made their opinion known via banner (and received mostly approval from LAOLA1 users for it>>>).

No comment from Zaric

When asked about it, there were different reactions from the Rheindörfler's coach and players.

While Ognjen Zaric preferred to remain reserved but tellingly quiet ("no matter what I say now: someone will criticize it, so I'll leave it"), Vesel Demaku was more forthcoming.

"We all know where Vorarlberg is. Sunday evening is not a good time for the fans. They have to go to work tomorrow, and I feel sorry for them because of that. I think we usually have more people with us," he said, expressing understanding for the protest.

The players also have to adapt: "This weekend, we prefer the time due to the weather, but otherwise, I have to be honest: We arrive in Vorarlberg at 6:00-7:00 AM, after an eight-hour bus ride, and then four days later we're playing again. It's not optimal for us, but the league won't adjust to us, so we just have to accept it."

Not much warmer at 5 PM?

Rapid will also play an away game on Sunday at 7 PM in three weeks, but a trip from Vienna to Salzburg (and back) cannot be compared to Altach's road trip.

For fans from the federal states, of whom Hütteldorfer have an above-average number and can attract to their home games, the Sunday evening slot is not optimal even at home.

"At Rapid, I often see fans traveling from all over Austria, so it gets quite late," Matthias Seidl lamented.

For the captain, "5 PM is a good time; you can have a proper meal afterwards and get to bed on time, even when playing away. In terms of temperatures, it doesn't make a huge difference, but we can't influence it much."