When I did the last video update for my Promotion Hunter Update on Football Manager 23, I had just left Switzerland where I won the second division with Lugano for Germany where I took over at Holstein Kiel in the 2. Bundesliga.

At first, it looked like I had struck gold again. I got QPR promoted in one season before I went to Lugano so I was hopeful of a third-straight success. For much of the 2037-38 season, I sat in the top three positions, which would have guaranteed me at least a playoff spot.

But, I stumbled down the stretch – partially because I made the DFB-Pokal semifinals where Bayern rinsed me – and finished in fourth. I lost on the final day of the season. A tie could have put me in the playoffs. A win would have promoted me.

I never found much success after that. We finished ninth the next season and that required a late run near the end of the season. In 2039-40, nothing worked, and we only won one match before I decided to leave in November.

The pressure was there so I started applying for jobs. I got a handful of interviews, including one at Dukla Prague where I had success three jobs ago. They passed on me, but one interview request even pointed out my success at getting teams promoted. Seeing that show up in the game was one of my goals for this kind of save.

I have landed in Austria, ticking another country off of my list. SC Austria Lustenau is my new team, and I have a good chance of succeeding because they sit in first place halfway through the season at the winter break.

I didn’t say I needed to manage teams for a whole season to get them promoted! Their manager left for a better job so I am happy to take the reins for the rest of the year and then move on. There is no room for error – only one team gets promoted, and there is no playoff. I had a chance to manage in Austria at some point earlier and passed because of that.

So I am figuring out my squad and hoping there will be good news when I blog next!

*-The goal of Promotion Hunter is to see how long it takes me to get 10 different teams promoted. So I can’t manage in any top divisions. I have achieved six promotions in 17 seasons.