UEFA Europa League

Veteran coach Dick Advocaat extends Feyenoord contract

Updated Jun. 18, 2020 12:47 p.m. ET

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Veteran coach Dick Advocaat has extended his contract with Feyenoord by one year to keep him in charge of the Rotterdam club through next season.

Feyenoord, which announced the contract extension Tuesday, hired Advocaat in late October to succeed Jaap Stam, who resigned after less than half a season in charge and with the team struggling at 12th in the Eredivisie.

Under the experienced Advocaat, Feyenoord surged up the table to stand third behind Ajax and AZ Alkmaar when the coronavirus crisis halted matches and cast doubt on the remainder of the season.

Advocaat said it felt strange to extend his contract amid the uncertainty of the virus restrictions, but it also spurred him to build on the team's form before the enforced stop.

“Before everything ground to a halt, we at Feyenoord were putting together something great; something was building in the team,” he said in a statement posted on the club's website. “I, the team and staff, want to finish it.”

The 72-year-old Advocaat has trained teams including PSV Eindhoven, Glasgow Rangers and the national teams of the Netherlands, Russia and South Korea.

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