A second successive relegation from the German tier five was narrowly avoided as Ruprecht Prusseit led 1. FC Lok Stendal to a solid run of form at the end of the 2025/26 campaign. Now he had a summer to strengthen his squad.
Early in June, we got the announcement that our 5th-place finish would mean the two-times European champions would play in the new-look Champions League format! However, we were nowhere ready to compete in the Champions League.
Ruprecht Prusseit's second role in football management had been packed with entertainment as his 1. FC Lok Stendal 21 games saw 81 goals. That resulted in a familiar position, with Stendal sitting four points above the relegation zone with 15 games remaining.
Cash-strapped SV Dessau 05 suffered relegation back into the German sixth tier on goal difference in 2024/25. And manager Ruprecht Prusseit needed a bit of time away from football to gather his thoughts and consider his options.
In the first part of our attempt at the Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge, we took control of Nottingham Forest on 6 November 2022 and just about kept them in the Premier League in an exciting final-day relegation fight. Now a big rebuild was required to strengthen an under-par and bloated squad.
Relegation favourites SV Dessau 05 were performing above expectations to sit outside the drop zone of German Division North East - South. But Ruprecht Prusseit's young side were far from secure in the fifth tier, especially considering an increasingly concerning financial situation.
Ruprecht Prusseit came into the summer of 2024 unsure of whether to continue the work he'd started at SV Dessau 05 or seek pastures new. He'd worked wonders to keep Dessau in the fifth tier with a bunch of high-potential but low-current-ability teenagers and the club's finances were a huge concern.
With Football Manager 2023 nearly done and dusted, I was running out of save ideas having completed all my long-term series. But I took inspiration from a few of the lads on the FM Library, who'd all taken on the intriguing-looking challenge to emulate the achievements of arguably the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson.
Newly promoted SV Dessau 05 found themselves locked in a tough battle to survive in tier five of German football. And survival looked a tough ask with just a three-point gap to the bottom three.
Ruprecht Prusseit had enjoyed unexpected success in his first season as a Football Manager, leading SV Dessau 05 to an unexpected promotion led by the incredible goalscoring exploits of star striker Branden Stelmak. But the hard work began now as his semi-professional side made the step up to tier five with his only three paid players departing the club, leaving him with a bunch of kids to work with.
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