Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp is set to keep his job at SV Meppen, despite the German club being relegated to the fourth tier of German football last month. Despite failing to keep the team in the third division, the club has announced that Middendorp will remain in charge. He joined Meppen in March after leaving relegation-threatened Swallows FC in the DStv Premiership. Middendorp, who came close to winning the league with Chiefs in 2020, found Meppen at the bottom league but could not save them from being relegated to the German fourth tier despite finishing 17th.
Mazinyo’s job now is to take them back to the Bundesliga 3. SVM sports director Heiner Beckmann said Middendorp will be staying with the team as it tries to gain promotion back to the third division. We are very happy we can retain such a competent and experienced trainer in this positions in Ernst Middendorp. In the last few weeks, we have already seen very positive results from his meticulous and dedicated work, Beckmann said in a statement.
Middendorp said he was disappointed in his team’s relegation, especially considering their improvement of the last few weeks where they climbed from 20th to 17th. But I felt and saw what is possible at SV Meppen, the former Chiefs coach said. For me, this approach is crucial when assessing and promoting talent from Emsland [the district in Lower Saxony in which the town of Meppen is situated]. The planning and decisions for the regional league season will now pick up speed again.
