The expectations were not high among the Oostende fans at the start of the season due to the change of ownership and the great reduction of the budget, which resulted in the sale of a few good players.
That said, Gert Verheyen was a manager with a good reputation and he talked a good game early on in the season.
The team lacked consistency and a settled system to rely upon early in the campaign, suffered a few rather resounding beatings on a few occasions.
That said, they always looked comfortable enough in the table and did not seem to be in immediate danger of being dragged down to the mire.
Yet, wins became more and more scarce as the season went on and this became more of an issue n the early weeks of 2019. An agonising last-minute loss to Gent in the Cup semi-finals left the squad distraught and they never really seemed to care from then on.
A few more losses in February meant that Verheyghen did not see the season out and sporting director Hugo Broos took over on interim basis.
He earned a couple of rare wins in the play-offs but overall Oostende never seemed to have any real purpose in the second half of the season and were basically preparing for next year from early on.
They already have a new manager in place in Kåre Ingebrigtsen, multiple times winner of the Norwegian league, but he will need lots of help in revamping the squad as it just has no discernible quality in any of the areas.
