Vanden Stock: "Like Dismissing a Son"

Chairman Roger Vanden Stock has spoken about the dismissal of Frank Vercauteren earlier this week. "If things don't go well it usually is the coach that gets fired, not the players."


"We had to do something. We didn't find any faults with Vercauteren's professional attitude. But at the end some players did not understand his way of working any more. Some reacted in a positive manner, others negatively."

"It was a difficult decision to dismiss Vercauteren. He played here for many years, he was assistant coach and head coach. He even worked in my father's brewery as a youngster. That's why he was regarded as part of the family. Dismissing him was like dismissing a son," Vanden Stock explained.

The chairman also looked ahead and reflected on his team's diminished title chances. "The hope of winning the title will disappear only when it's become mathematically impossible to win it. Of course I've noticed that the team's lacking in quality here and there. That's why we will strengthen the squad in the next transfer window. I want to see more offensive football as well."