Oostende started the season fresh after a nightmare previous campaign that saw them sit near the bottom of the table almost throughout. New German coach Alexander Blessin oversaw a bold squad revamp in the summer and the team had an interesting look from the first weeks onwards. Despite starting the season with four games without a win, it quickly became clear that this Kustboys side is not going to be battling relegation and has a higher ceiling.
Their success was based on solid three-man defence and a rapid counterattacking football, with speedy Fashion Sakala getting goals aplenty in the open spaces. There was also some real high-pressing, energetic football on show and Blessin's men quickly started to win the hearts of the natural fans. The team still had the odd poor run, getting one point in five games in November, but bounced back in December with five wins in seven, and remain near the top places for most of the season.
Oostende maintained the same blueprint as the season went on and remained especially effective at home, where they lost only to Club Brugge from August to April, while scoring almost aways at least two goals a game. They remained with a chance for the top four until the end but eventually settled for the fifth place after a bit of a mixed run to finish the regular season.
A 6:2 hammering of Standard kicked the play-offs in the best possible fashion but the team eventually ran out of steam after losing three games in a row to Gent and Mechelen and that proved the end of their challenge for a European spot.
However, that was nothing short of a superb season for the Kustboys and Blessin deserves the manager of the year award for the way he has lifted this squad and gave a platform to a number of players to shine, not least towering defender Arthur Theate and Sakala.
