Did They Speak To NEC – Dutch Journalist Questions Pep Lijnders’ Move To Salzburg | OneFootball

Dutch journalist Bjorn Thimister is unsure whether Red Bull Salzburg spoke to NEC Nijmegen before hiring former Liverpool coach Pepijn Lijnders as their new manager.

Lijnders left Liverpool alongside Jurgen Klopp at the end of the last season and he recently admitted that he only stuck around at Anfield for that long because of loyalty to the German.

The Dutchman has been appointed as the new manager of Red Bull Salzburg where he will look to rekindle his career as a coach.

His last experience as coach was a massive failure when he only lasted a few months at Dutch club NEC and he returned to Liverpool to join Klopp’s staff again.

Thimister insisted that he was definitely a failure at NEC and looked disillusioned very early in his tenure there.

The Dutch journalist insisted that he was unaware of whether Salzburg spoke to NEC before giving a three-year contract to Lijnders.

Thimister wrote in his column for Soccernews.nl: “Lijnders confidently packed his bags and got to work. To be able to express his football vision and therefore convey it to his players in Gelderland.

“Long story short: this adventure was a big disappointment; failure might be a better word.

“After six months, the then thirty-something man was already disillusioned on the streets.

“I am not sure whether the management of RB Salzburg has made a telephone call to colleagues at NEC in recent weeks to obtain the necessary advance information.

“At least I haven’t heard anything about it.

“The Austrians have nevertheless chosen Pepijn Lijnders as the new coach, with a corresponding three-year contract.”

Lijnders remains a highly-rated coach and he will be keen to prove his detractors wrong at Salzburg.