Dirk Kuyt looked like he was into the final seconds of his borrowed time at Beerschot, but that all changed on Friday night.
The newly promoted Belgian Pro League side finally got their first win of the season on the board after 11 games.
In doing so they took down 34-time Belgian champions and European giants Anderlecht, winning 2-1 at home in Antwerp.
The victory comes after Beerschot drew their opener, but then proceeded to lose the next eight games, leaving former Liverpool man Kuyt on the brink.
A humbling 5-0 derby defeat to Royal Antwerp on September 29 was abandoned due to fan protests, with Kuyt, their promotion hero last season, quickly enemy no.1.
A crunch meeting was held to decide his future, with reports that a €1million firing clause in his contract kept him in place.
However, since that decision, he’s now taken a draw and victory against strong opposition, and Beerschot could now be on the up as they’re now only bottom of the table by three points.
Speaking post-match, Kuyt continued to back himself after earlier insisting his team were playing better than their results.
“People look purely at results, but they have no idea where this club comes from and what situation we are in,” he said. “If you look at the budgets we work with compared to Anderlecht, this is a fantastic achievement.
“The crowd was quiet for the first thirteen minutes. And exactly when the crowd got behind it, we won duels and got into the game better.”
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