Fortuna Sittard, one of the struggling clubs in Dutch football, had to deal with financial problems again this season, but there's finally some light at the end of the tunnel. The club from Sittard only managed to seal three top twelve finishes in the last fifteen years and the expectations weren't that high with that in mind at the start of the 2016-2017 campaign. Manager Ben van Dael failed to bag results with his team however, which resulted in his departure before the winter break.
The negative atmosphere turned around shortly after Van Dael's departure though when director Isitan Gun and manager Sunday Oliseh, a former Ajax midfielder, joined the club. Gun had the budget to provide a quality injection and some promising players got added to the squad during the winter break. However, the financial mismanagement from the past did result in a nine point deduction during the season, which was hard to take, but Fortuna Sittard's better form in 2017 and the new management did push the club in the right direction.
The seventeenth spot wasn't satisfying at all, but this club managed to stay out of trouble despite the punishment by the Dutch FA. The club will have to use the summer break to strengthen the side now. Some loan players will leave Fortuna Sittard again, but the squad should contain more quality at the start of next season compared to this campaign. The fans were in fact happy with the last changes within the club and Fortuna Sittard could push for better days after the summer now.
