Horsens canter into Danish contention

AC Horsens fans call their team 'The Yellow Menace', but the Danish side have been more a danger to themselves than a threat to others until this season.

Courage, not cowardice
For the 80,000 residents of Horsens the colour yellow has represented courage rather than cowardice this term, with the local side lying third in the table despite being routinely tipped for relegation – as they have every year since returning to the top flight in 2005 – before a ball was kicked. With only 15 games to go, an improbable European place is in sight for Horsens.

New outlook
Given a recent history that even included a dip into the third tier of Danish football, that is something to be proud of, not least because the East Jutland side has one of the smallest budgets in the Superligaen and no real stars. Having escaped relegation by virtue of their defensive resilience in previous seasons, Horsens have emerged as a different proposition in 2007/08.

Denmark hero
Coach Kent Nielsen has brought the same determination to Horsens as his defensive skills did to the 1992 UEFA European Championship-winning Denmark team, and for Tommy Poulsen – sports editor with local paper Horsens Folkeblad – he is the real star of the team. "Continuity is the key word, and all the credit for this continuity should go to Kent Nielsen, who has been coach since 2001. He built this team and is still the one who makes it function."

Modest ambitions
Horsens have strengthened their squad during the winter break with Cameroonian defender Joseph Elanga joining on a one-year loan from Brøndby IF, but expectations remain sensible. Poulsen said: "Finishing in the top six would be absolutely acceptable to the club, as clubs like [Odense BK] and FC Midtjylland, who are both behind them in the league table, have much more financial muscle."

Vacant posts
However, with both of the sides above them in the table – Aalborg BK and FC København – on the lookout for new coaches, Horsens fans are understandably nervous about Nielsen's future. "Both AaB and Brøndby are looking for new coaches from next season and even though Nielsen's contract with Horsens does not expire until the summer of 2010, anyone can be bought," said Poulsen.

One-man band
Certainly there is a strong sense that Horsens are Nielsen's team, regardless of the coach's sense that he is not the only man who could fashion a decent side from the players available. Poulsen said: "He feels that others could do just as well with the team as he has, but taking Kent Nielsen away from AC Horsens would be like taking John Cleese out of Fawlty Towers!"