Chris Janssens was thanked in November for services rendered by the disappointing results at the ambitious amateur division, Urbain Spaenhoven had to give way a few weeks ago, because he did not have the required trainer papers to coach a club in 1st Amateur. That got in the way of a license.
That is not the case at Vande Velde. The 67-year-old is not only a connoisseur of amateur football, but also of professional football. The last club he had under his care was second national SK Londerzeel (2019), but we mainly know him from his football fairytale at FC Dender EH at the beginning of this century.
He then brought Dender from third to first division in 2 seasons. At the highest level, he also worked for KV Oostende (2008-2009) and OH Leuven (2009-2010). Later, he returned 2 more times to the club of his heart, Dender.
The assignment for the ex-footballer of Anderlecht and Union is clear and not less: to get the promotion. “Let’s be honest: this is a huge challenge,” says Vande Velde on the club’s website.
“The last few months I felt rather unhappy, because I missed the field. The fact that I can still experience this at my age is an incredible opportunity. I want to grab it with both hands.”
“I have been following the performance of this club for quite some time. I want Lokeren-Temse to reconnect with its history as soon as possible. These fans deserve that, that much is certain.”
“There is a lot of potential in this group. It is of course the players who have to do it, but together with my assistants I want to help them keep the focus. There is no time to lose.”
There are still 4 match days on the menu in the regular competition. Lokeren-Temse follows on 7 points from leader Petegem, the difference with Brakel, Ninove and Zwevezele is 1, 2 and 4 points respectively. The first promotes directly, the second and the period champions go to a final round.
