FC Volendam has chosen the duo of Regillio Simons and Michael Dingsdag in the search for a new head coach. Simons becomes head coach and ultimately responsible. Michael Dingsdag becomes assistant coach again. The duo did the honors in the past two games after the dismissal of Matthias Kohler.
Dingsdag initially succeeded Kohler as temporary head coach with Simons as assistant. Under his leadership, the bottom of the Premier League almost scored a point at Feyenoord. They only lost in injury time (3-1). The following match, the Volendam team won for the first time since October 29. They won 2-1 when they visited SC Heerenveen. Dingsdag was the head coach in those two matches, but does not have the correct credentials to finish the season. The 50-year-old Simons does have those papers and will take over from him.
Simons, father of international Xavi Simons, played football for Fortuna Sittard, Telstar, Willem II and ADO Den Haag in the past. As a trainer, he mainly trained amateur clubs and the youth of Ajax.
A temporary solution
After the match against Heerenveen, Dingsdag assumed that he would become an assistant coach again and that this is only a temporary solution. “Initially, only the two matches were discussed,” Dingsdag said at the time.
Text continues below the video.
Simons and Dingsdag have signed a contract until the summer of 2025. They started together this summer as a coaching duo of Jong FC Volendam. Volendam will be looking for a replacement for that team.
“The club has listened to various individual or duo candidates, with the objective being crystal clear: keeping FC Volendam in the Premier League. With the appointment of Simons and Dingsdag, we believe we have the best chance of achieving this objective,” business director Frans ten Berge said on the club’s website.
FC Volendam, which is in penultimate place in the competition, will go to a training camp in early January. When the competition resumes, the Volendam team will face a direct competitor in the fight against relegation; Almere City FC.