Football Season Guide

Oostende were one of the rather poor and limited sides last season in the Pro League and were quite lucky that Beerschot and Seraing were as bad as they were as their performance were also worthy of a side getting dragged into a relegation battle. That said, Yves Vanderhaeghe did a decent job in steadying the ship after the mid-season departure of Alexander Blessin and he is now facing a challenging task in trying to build a more coherent and expansive side and not one that just plays deep defensively and tries to hit teams on the counter. There has been only one new arrival so far in Cypriot midfielder Fanos Katelaris and it is clear that more work will need to be done for the Kustboys to steer clear of danger in the bottom places. There is an especially acute need of reinforcements in defence after three on-loan defenders departed in the summer, with Anton Tanghe now the only player left with first-team experience. Manuel Osifo is one interesting prospect in defence and, if he stays fit, he has the potential to become a big player and make a breakthrough. Oostende once again look like a side that is set for a battle in the lower echelons of the standing and is very much unlikely to punch above their weight given the available talent, and may well be sucked into a relegation tussle.