Heracles confirm inevitable Eredivisie relegation with defeat to FC Volendam | OneFootball

Heracles were mathematically relegated yesterday following a defeat to fellow strugglers FC Volendam. The side from just north of Amsterdam gave their survival hopes a huge boost while confirming Heracles return to the second tier of Dutch football. In many ways, this relegation has been coming for a few weeks now, but it was up to Volendam to put the final nail in the Heracles coffin.

Plenty will be said about the sides decision to bring in Ernest Faber as head coach and sporting director. Faber took on the dual role but was unable to deliver any meaningful results on the pitch, and as analyst Kenneth Perez has already said, how much can the club trust him to bring success when he fully transitions into the sporting director role.

Perez called the relegation a ‘failure’ and no one can argue against that assessment. The side from Almelo started the season with Bas Sibum as head coach. This proved to be a mistake, as Sibum was unable to build upon what previous head coach Erwin van de Looi had done at the club. Sibum was only in charge for 10 games, losing nine and winning just one.

He was inevitably sacked, with Hendrie Krüzen taking over. Krüzen had been a former assistant at Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen and immediately began to improve the situation in Almelo. After just one win in 10, Heracles went unbeaten in four under Krüzen, with three wins and one draw. Things were looking up, until Faber was then brought in.

Faber has plenty of experience in managing in the Netherlands, but his spell in charge has been a disaster. All the signs of life that Heracles had shown under Krüzen quickly dissipated, with the club only winning two games under the new man. Faber picked up another three draws as well, but lost 14. The side have shipped an incredible 79 goals in just 31 games, by far the worst defence in the league. As soon as Jizz Hornkamp left in the winter, their chances of overcoming such a terrible defence with scoring at the other end were quashed.

Heracles now return to the second tier just three seasons since they won the Eeerste Divisie. After back to back 14th placed finishes, it looks like the side are destined to finish bottom. The future is now uncertain. Will Heracles continue with Faber, or will they decide to go in a completely different direction? The next few weeks will provide us with the answers.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson