On Saturday, the Belgian champions Club Brugge appointed the British coach Scott Parker to succeed Carl Hoefkens to manage the Flemish side. Despite an impressive European campaign, Hoefkens had been under pressure, especially after losing 4-1 to OH Leuven in the Croky Cup.
Despite reaching the knock-out stages of the Champions League, Hoefkens had been under pressure despite only being in the job since July. Currently in fourth place and 12 points behind league leaders Genk. The Belgian coach's position was rendered untenable after a 4-1 loss against Sint-Truiden in the Croky Cup.
After failing to win any of his last three games, including a 1-1 draw against OH Leuven, Brugge's board felt as if they had no other choice but to sack their former player on Wednesday and quickly moved to appoint a new head coach by the end of the week.
Related News
- Jupiler Pro League: Union Saint-Gilloise win 3-0 to keep title chase on track
- Three Belgian referees to receive FIFA badge for international matches
- Belgian Pro League stops late Sunday night football matches
They decided to turn to Scott Parker, who has managed English clubs Fulham and Bournemouth in recent years. Having been a manager since 2019, Parker also had an illustrious Premier League career as player and was even voted Player of the Year by the Football Writers' Association in 2011.
Translation of tweet: "Welcome Scott Parker! The Englishman has just been appointed as our new head coach."
A report by Flemish outlet Het Laatste Nieuws has indicated that Parker was Brugge's third choice to replace Hoefkens, who had offered the job to Danish national team boss Kasper Hjulmand and English football legend Steven Gerrard who both rejected the Belgian champions' approaches.