Can FC Volendam repeat last season's success?

Currently, FC Volendam is in seventeenth place with eleven points, just four points away from the safe fifteenth position in the Eredivisie standings. There's no need to panic yet because last season, the North Hollanders entered the (due to the World Cup, slightly earlier) winter break as the bottom team with six points, trailing by six points to the safe fifteenth position. After the winter break, FC Volendam gathered a whopping thirty points, although six teams earned more points after the New Year. In the end, Volendam finished fourteenth in the Eredivisie with 36 points. Their highest finish since 1996/97 when they also finished fourteenth.

Although FC Volendam is currently in a slightly better position than last season during the New Year, it was still turbulent at the Dijk. After chairman Jan Smit's departure, coach Matthias Kohler also left shortly after. He was replaced for two matches by the duo Michael Dingsdag and Regillio Simons, who took over from the winter break. The results immediately brought hope. Volendam held their ground against top club Feyenoord until the extra time of the second half and won against sc Heerenveen. A clear idea emerged: build more defensive stability. In the last two matches, Volendam had 16.5% and 23.5% possession, with only two of the previous 48 Eredivisie matches since the last promotion having so little ball possession.

In the first round after the resumption, an important match is scheduled against Almere City at home. The team playing across Markermeer is only five points ahead of Volendam, so a significant advantage can be gained at once. Can this be the start of a new ascent for FC Volendam?