Former Sunderland and Bristol City manager has Lommel in with a chance of promotion

Former Sunderland and Bristol City manager has Lommel in with a chance of promotion

Lommel cruised into the final of the Challenger Pro League play-offs with a demolition of RFC Liege. The side, who are part of the City Group, had a 3-0 lead going into the second leg away from home. Any chance that RFC Liege had disappeared within the space of 20 minutes as Lommel took a 2-0 lead. The game ended 2-1 on the night, with Lommel now set to face Beerschot in the play-off final.

At the helm is former Sunderland and Bristol City manager Lee Johnson. This has been Johnson’s first time managing outside of Britain, having taken over at Lommel from former Arsenal man Steve Bould last season. Johnson has led a Lommel side back to the play-offs and they will face a Beerschot side that finished third. If they can get past Beerschot, they then have to face Dender in a two legged play-off to decide which team will play in the Belgian Pro League next season.

For Johnson, it has been a chance to rebuild his reputation as a manager. During his time at Bristol City he had enjoyed some success, but then struggled as manager of Sunderland, Hibs and most recently Fleetwood Town. Lommel gave him a chance and so far it has paid off. The side also changed how they built a squad for the second tier of Belgian football.

In the past, Lommel had just relied on one or two veteran players surrounded by youngsters brought in by the City Group. This season, they build a much more balanced side, still with young players but they combined these inexperienced players with plenty of know how. So far, it has paid off. For example, 37-year-old striker Ralf Seuntjens leads the side with an impressive 18 goals and 10 assists in 33 games. Last season, Seuntjens was playing in the Dutch second tier for De Graafschap, where he scored five goals in 39 games.