Union’s 5-0 loss to Club Brugge last weekend has not altered the club’s view of David Hubert, who is expected to remain in charge next season despite the heaviest defeat since the team returned to the top level.
Hubert arrived at Union in October after Sébastien Pocognoli left for Monaco, and the timing of that change has made the ending to the campaign harder to read. Union still collected 7 points out of 12 in the playoffs, but that has not been enough to keep its title push alive. Club Brugge, meanwhile, has won 7 of its 8 playoff matches so far, a run that helped close the door on Union’s challenge and showed why the gap at the top widened so quickly.
The 5-0 defeat was more than just a bad afternoon. It was Union’s heaviest loss since returning to the top level, and it came after a season in which the club had given itself real reasons to believe. Under Hubert, Union beat Galatasaray and Atalanta in the Champions League, results that underlined the coach’s capacity to handle high-pressure matches. CEO Philippe Bormans has also recently expressed confidence in Hubert, and a report from L’Avenir said the club does not blame him internally.
That matters because the numbers tell a mixed story. Union won second place and the cup in the season described, a strong return by any normal standard, but last season’s 28 points out of 30 in the playoffs raised the bar to a level that was always going to be difficult to match. This year’s 7 points out of 12 is respectable, yet it sits far below that exceptional benchmark and leaves Union looking more like a side that ran into a stronger rival than one that collapsed on its own.
For now, the club’s thinking appears settled. Barring surprises, Hubert will still be at Union next season, with the board treating the Brugge defeat as a setback rather than a verdict. The sharper question is not whether the coach survives this weekend’s result, but whether Union can rebuild enough to turn a season that brought silverware and Champions League wins into a genuine title bid again.
