Lierse parted ways with their coach Christophe Grégoire on Monday. “A difference in vision has emerged in recent weeks,” according to the Challenger Pro League club’s press release (https://tinyurl.com/pp6z9syj), three days after Friday night’s 1-0 defeat at SK Beveren, where the Pallieters finished the match with nine men.
Physical trainer William Salvadori must also empty his locker.
Grégoire, 44, former coach of Sprimont, Seraing and Virton, arrived at Lisp as successor to Sven Vandenbroeck who left for Zulte Waregem last summer.
The ex-international (2 selections) trained at RFC Liégeois had a good start, but the last few weeks have been more complicated, Lierse, falling to seventh in the ranking with 19 points at the end of the fourteenth day, having not won only one of its last eight matches (6 points out of 24), 2-1 against Liège, on December 6.
“The situation was examined in depth by several people whose conclusions were identical,” explains sports manager Jonathan Kindermans in the Gazette of Antwerp (https://tinyurl.com/w3f5e55y).
“Lierse, who are not used to changing coaches during the season, feared that problems would arise after the holidays. The team’s style of play corresponded less to less with what the we wanted to see…”.
“Beveren was the straw that broke the camel’s back!”
“So Beveren was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” recognizes Kindermans. “The situation was deteriorating more and more, and it was our duty to intervene. The coach and the committee were no longer on the same wavelength at all. Reaching the play-offs must remain an ambition for a club like Lierse will also allow the group to become aware of it, and I think that it will be possible with another coach, especially since Deinze has thrown in the towel…”
Christophe Grégoire stunned
“It was totally unexpected. I can’t believe it,” Grégoire told the GVA (https://tinyurl.com/37dhdbw2).
“At no time did I receive the signal that my work was being called into question,” marvels the former player of Mouscron, RSCA Anderlecht, Willem II Tilburg, Sporting de Charleroi, and also, among others, La Ghent. “I have no idea what I’m being accused of. The goal was to have a quiet season, not to reach the Promotion playoffs. But so much the better for the club if it gets there with my successor…”
Which the Liégeois strongly doubts. “In Beveren we had 21 shots on goal without scoring a single goal,” he recalls. “The reason for this silence? A lack of quality, quite simply…”
“The club aspired to offensive and attractive football? That’s good, but we also have to be realistic. The core is not large, it is young and inexperienced…”, concludes Christophe Grégoire
Ransford Addo, Bernd Brughmans and former club, Standard and Beerschot player Dirk Huysmans, ex-T2, will together lead training and Sunday’s match (7:15 p.m.) against Lommel, the last before the winter break.
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