Barely a few days after being fired from Westerlo, Rik De Mil already has a new employer. The ex-assistant coach of Club Brugge must save Charleroi from relegation. He signed for two years.
The appointment comes just a few days after De Mil, despite ensuring retention with Westerlo, was fired because his team decided to settle for a salon draw in the final phase of the match against Genk. Ironically, fellow coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck said about De Mil after that match that “you carry this with you as a coach”.
That does not stop Charleroi from entrusting their fate to De Mil. The Zebras have other problems to fend for after they surprisingly struggled in the play-downs due to a 5-0 defeat against AA Gent on the final match day. They will have especially seen how De Mil immediately had an impact after he took over from Jonas De Roeck at Westerlo and, all in all, kept the club relatively easily in the Jupiler Pro League with a 16 out of 39. Moreover, De Mil also did this by giving opportunities to young talent.
Six matches to avoid relegation
De Mil was given a two-year contract – not exactly the norm at Mambourg, where Mehdi Bayat normally offered his trainers contracts of indefinite duration to make it easier to say goodbye if necessary. The brand new Charleroi coach will lead his first training session next Monday, the playing group will have some rest this weekend.
De Mil does not get much time to acclimatize: in the play-downs, Charleroi only has six games to avoid relegation. The Carolos are five points ahead of Eupen and KV Kortrijk, and six points ahead of RWDM. The last two are relegated, the third last plays a jump-off match against a team from the Challenger Pro League.
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