Penders klaar voor nieuwe klus bij Roda JC: "Toch het idee dat je bij een Eredivisie-ploeg tekent"

Following their elimination in the play-offs, Roda JC faces a new season in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie. The Limburg club is doing so with a new face in charge of the squad: Rob Penders is tasked with leading Roda JC back to the VriendenLoterij Eredivisie. “The moment Roda comes calling, you really get the feeling that you are signing with an Eredivisie team,” Penders said on Thursday during his press presentation at the Parkstad Limburg Stadium. The successor to Kevin van Dessel was already prominently in the picture last year, but FC Utrecht kept the door closed at the time. Now, however, he is finally being given the keys to Roda JC. “The Eredivisie is definitely something we want to achieve with Roda. It is a club that belongs in the Eredivisie, especially when you look around the stadium here. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened yet this year, but we hope to make an attempt in the coming years,” Penders stated. Farewell to Utrecht Penders worked as an assistant coach at FC Utrecht for the past three years, where technical director Jordy Zuidam held him to his contract when Roda JC had already approached Penders last year. “That still feels a bit bittersweet, because I really wanted to make the move last year,” he says. “I spoke to Jordy Zuidam about it as well. On the one hand, that was a disappointment, but also a sign that they were very satisfied with me. That gave me a very good feeling.” By his own account, he wouldn't have wanted to miss the past season at FC Utrecht either. “Even though we went through some really tough times at Utrecht, it was also a great season with those European trips.” Two seasons At Roda JC, they are happy that Penders is now on board with a contract for two seasons. Technical manager Robbie Servais: “Rob has experience in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, has worked at a high level at Utrecht, and is tactically astute.” And: “He is a balanced man who enjoys working with people around him. That combination makes him the ideal candidate for us.” Servais is clear about the objective for the upcoming season. “We want to challenge for the top five. To do that, we have to overperform, because we have to be realistic. You don’t want to fall back on excuses, but we have the eighth-largest player budget. That is the reality, so you have to overperform. We are going to do that by working smart and also by bringing in players from Rob’s network.”