Rapid Vienna appoint new manager prior to Rangers clash

Rapid Vienna have appointed former player Dietmar Kuhbauer as their new manager and he says he's determined to hit the ground running at Ibrox tomorrow.

Rangers face the Austrian side, who have had a terrible start to their season, in the Europa League Group Stages.

They axed Goran Djuricin at the weekend and replaced him with the manager of the side who beat them - St Polten boss Kuhbauer - and forked out £400,000 to release him from his contract.

Dietmar Kuhbauer playing for Austria in 2004. Picture: Getty

The 47-year-old is nicknamed ‘Don Didi’ among Rapid fans, where he is regarded as a legend after helping them to an Austrian Bundesliga title, an Austrian Cup success and he also starred as Rapid reached the 1996 European Cup-Winners Cup Final against PSG.

Now he’s back at the club where he made over 200 appearances and is desperate to turn their fortunes around.

Kuhbauer said: “I have never made a secret of the fact my ambition in football was for me to be Rapid manager.

“Now I have finally got there.

“I want to repay the trust placed in me by the board and the fans. We face a real challenge, but if we are together, we can go great places.

“We start in Glasgow against Rangers. That’s an enormous challenge in a fantastic stadium, but I want the players to show me what they can do.”