Manchester City have congratulated the ex Hearts and Hibs men on their big achievement.
Manchester City have sent their congratulations to former Hearts and Hibs bosses after they helped guide their latest club to promotion.
Lommel SK are part of the City Group stable of clubs and have been promoted to the top flight of Belgian football with a 3-2 aggregate play-off final win over FCV Dender. They are managed by ex Hibs and Sunderland boss Lee Johnson while ex Hearts gaffer Robbie Neilson has worked as his number two.
They finished fifth in the second tier and have worked their way through the play-offs to hit the Pro League. It’s a stint that’s helped rebuild Johnson’s stock after arriving at Hibs following Sunderland, enduring a mixed stint in Leith between 2022-2023, before a calamitous Fleetwood Town reign. This was also the first job Neilson embarked upon in Europe after a second stint in the Hearts dugout ended during 2023, then managing Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USA, before linking up with Johnson.
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What did Manchester City say about Lommel SK’s promotion
In a show of unity across the City Group network, Premier League heavyweights Manchester City said ‘congratulations’ under Lommel’s Instagram post, and they weren’t the only ones. New York City FC said ‘congrats’ from Stateside while Italian club Palermo commented ‘Congratulazioni ragazzi!’ A collection of Belgian clubs also congratulated Lommel as they prepare to take on heavyweights like Club Brugge and Anderlecht next term.
Johnson said after a goalless second leg draw with: “Relief, joy, passion, just delighted for everybody. I'm so proud, the players have worked so unbelievably hard, we had to epitomise that with how hard we had to work and there’s just such a great spirit amongst the group. It wasn't pretty the game in my view but it was effective.
“We had to get over the line and we've done that so you know fantastic for the supporters. Delighted for everybody back in Lommel, delighted for the team, the club, the group, everybody and it becomes quite emotional after you win a game like that because there's so much effort gone into a really long season. At half-time I wanted us to play more football and we didn't have enough control of the ball and when we got control of the ball we started to cause them a few problems.
Lee Johnson on promotion at Lommel
”My staff have been unbelievable. Honestly, the support we've had from the hierarchy, from the CFG group, we've really used it. Sometimes people don't like the multi-club model but it's really helped us develop players, give them the vehicle to go and play in, and be successful as well. We're a pint-sized club with a big character.
“It's an amazing occasion. It's not about me, it's about them, I love just watching the boys like excited and celebrating together. The experience that we're going to have back in Lommel because we have to harness that spirit that comes with a community as well. I've seen pictures of the past where we had seven or eight thousand every week. We had it last week in this game. I want the whole city and town to come out and keep supporting us like it was in the old days.”
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