Dirk Kuyt has responded to a number of remarkable scenarios at Beerschot. The former international lashed out at the Belgian club, while also cautiously announcing his departure.
The Dutch coach had a dramatic season, as Voetbal International report. Beerschot were relegated in a bleak campaign and it’s said that things weren’t made easy for Kuyt behind the scenes. For example, he was no longer allowed to field star player Thibaud Verlinden by the club management. And there was no training field available.
“The worst thing I found was that at one point we simply didn’t have a field to train on”, he revealed in Het Laatste Nieuws. “We couldn’t train on the field during the last training session before our home match against Union Saint-Gilloise, as there was no training ground available and our main field was being rebuilt. We worked in the gym and prepared the boys with video footage.”
After a while, Kuyt decided to take matters into his own hands. “At one point, I started driving around Antwerp itself looking for fields to train on. I saw amateur clubs that had five or six fields, while we didn’t have a single one. It was appalling. I mean what I say: I don’t feel too good for anything. I’m happy to work hard and give it my all, but only in the role for which I was hired.”
It was seemingly impossible for the former Feyenoord and Liverpool man to do his job. For example, a training camp in Saudi Arabia was moved to Zeeland, but was cancelled prematurely after two days. The club also had six directors who took turns in rapid succession.
“I decided a few months ago that I cannot and will not continue in this way. The circumstances in which we had to work this season were very difficult. I think the chances are slim that these things will change in the short term. And so the chances are big that this is my last interview as Beerschot coach, yes.”
