Kortrijk are set to announce that former head coach Glen De Boeck will be the successor to the recently sacked Ed Still. De Boeck, whose most recent managerial stint was four years ago with Lokeren, will now have the unenviable task of trying to turn things around for a club in complete dissaray. With an owner that has decided he doesn’t care anymore and a squad that was decided upon by another club, the coach has to somehow rise above all this and keep them in the division. With no wins in eight and just two points, some would say it is almost impossible.
Whenever things have gone wrong for Kortrijk in recent years, they have turned to former head coaches. Yves Vanderhaeghe and Karim Belhocine have both been brought back years after departing, with both then being fired within a season or two. This will be De Boeck’s first time returning since he was fired and then replaced by Vanderhaeghe during the 2018/2019 season. In the campaign prior to his removal, De Boeck had led Kortrijk to their best finish since Vincent Tan bought the club in 2015. During the 2017/2018 season Kortrijk narrowly missed out on play-off one and finished seventh. If De Boeck can guide the side to seventh this season he will certainly win the manager of the year award.
Everything suggests the opposite however. With no means of signing new players now that the transfer window has closed, De Boeck will have to try and get the best out of a squad that was engineered in Burnley and not Belgium. He does have experience of saving teams from relegation, but how much that will help four years out of the game remains to be seen. Football has moved on, but Kortrijk will be hoping that De Boeck can rewind the clock and keep them in the top flight.
GBeNeFNÂ |Â Ben Jackson
