Lennart Mertens has credited Marink Reedijk for making his top-flight dreams come true in Belgium, and the veteran Beveren striker is convinced the new Hibernian head coach is the man to end this season's Easter Road nightmare.
At 32, Mertens had spent most of his career in the lower rungs of Belgian football before joining second-tier Beveren. He feared he would never reach the Pro League, where he could face clubs like Club Brugge, Anderlecht and Union Saint-Gilloise. But Reedijk's appointment changed everything, and the pair spent their first season together working on the high-pressing style Reedijk is now trying to implement in Edinburgh.
From Lower Leagues to Promotion
Mertens recorded the best goalscoring figures of his career as undefeated Beveren won the Challenge League title and secured promotion. He said: "Playing in the top flight here, let's say it was the only thing in my career I was missing. Had I given up on reaching that dream? Almost. I was like, 'God, is this going to be my life, stuck in the lower levels.' I was 32. I knew I didn't have many years left but I was already thinking, 'This is going to be a shackle on my CV.'"
He added: "But last year it was very clear that we were heading for promotion and we sealed it so early in February. It was amazing. That was all down to Marink and the flow he created, the winning mentality. That was really something that defined us. He made a real group out of a team. For me as a striker, when I went to press, I already knew what my right winger was doing, what my No6 was doing. It was like a machine that worked perfectly."
Reedijk's Man-Management
Mertens also praised Reedijk's motivational skills, which he says will be vital as Hibs seek to lift a dressing room low on confidence. Saturday's 2-1 loss at home to Falkirk was Hibs' sixth defeat from nine in the league this season. Mertens said: "Off the pitch Marink was so impressive. Right now this season, I'm on the bench and I'm really mad about that. But with him, I could understand the reason when I wouldn't start games. First of all, he asks you to his office, he explains the reasons why."
He continued: "He explains that maybe we need a striker with pace, maybe we need a big striker, maybe we need a winger with better action than the other one. But it was all very, very clear. When I joined the club, I realised right away Marink is a guy with a principles, but also a guy you can talk to. Sometimes I had difficulties at home but he knew that family is the most important thing. So he'd give you three days off to fix everything at home. He'd even call me on my day off to ask how he could help. So this was the kind of person Marink really is."
High Pressing and Counter-Pressing
Mertens fired 20 goals and seven assists in 30 appearances during Beveren's Invincibles promotion push. He believes Reedijk's style can work in Scotland, having watched the league last season because his friend Arne Engels played for Celtic. He said: "His way of playing is to put pressure high up the pitch because this is the shortest distance to the goal. And if they Hibs players can become really fit and get their counter press to a high level, it will make a big difference."
He added: "That's what we worked on last year and why we scored so much. I know that as a striker, I would die for Marink. I would press my ass off for 90 minutes. I'm not a guy who looks so much at statistics but the one number that tells you a lot about how effective you are as a team is the one about how many times you win the ball back after losing it. And at Beveren we were always at the top. I'd expect to see him implement that at Hibs and in the coming weeks I expect to see Hibs score again and again. But to do that, the physical ability has to go up. And maybe the way of pressing is going to change also. But I have confidence in what he's doing. There are fun times ahead for Hibs I think."
