New Queen's Park manager Robin Veldman aiming to emulate Brighton's style

New Queen’s Park manager Robin Veldman is aiming to bring a brand of attractive football to Hampden next season after leaving his role at Belgian giants Anderlecht to take over at the Spiders.

Veldman, who was assistant manager in Brussels, has also coached at four-time European champions Ajax but has now decided to take his first step into management in the Scottish Championship as he replaces Owen Coyle who took them to a Premiership play-off place last season.

And the 37-year-old is now looking to emulate the strategy of English Premier League high fliers Brighton and newly promoted Burnley, who are managed by his old Anderlecht mate Vincent Kompany, in Glasgow.

The appointment raised a few eyebrows in Scottish football with it being seen as an ambitious move for the club to bring in someone who has worked at clubs of that calibre.

But Veldman insists it also shows his ambition as he looks to transform the playing style and develop the club going forward.

He said: “I think it shows Queen’s Park ambition, but it’s also my ambition to become a head coach and I don’t think it’s easy to become a head coach.

“You need to take steps. And starting for me was in the under 13s before moving of U16s to 18s to 21s, and to first team football.

“So I think it’s a, it’s a logical step for me without having a career as a professional football player. I think it’s a good step from a youth coach, academy coach towards assistant coach and now fully responsible.

“I think it’s a good pathway.”

Queen’s Park revealed earlier this month that he had agreed a deal to play their Championship games at Hampden next season, after narrowly missing out on promotion to the top-flight in a final day defeat to Dundee before falling at the play-off hurdle.

But Veldman insists their is no urgent pressure for promotion as he looks to a long-term goal to develop young players and bring a signature style to the Glasgow club.

He said: “I would like to play attractive football by using young players and then we’ll see what will come of it.

“There’s no direct pressure to be champion or gain promotion, although his is a nice wish.

“First of all, it’s a nice workflow for young players to adapt in the style of play and especially to develop them.

“It’s a long term goal, our technical director Marijn Beuker has been here for one and a half years.

“I signed a three year deal. So I would also like to stay for a longer term because I don’t believe you’re going to build something in one month or in one year.

“So we are trying to build something special, I think regarding the Scottish League, it’s something different than I was used to in Ajax or in Anderlecht, in the style of play.

“So in the style of play we’re trying to bring something more risky, creative and also the physicality of course.

But when you look at like, for example, Brighton and Hove Albion, the way they play possession based football, this is also something they started a couple of years ago and they keep developing a style of play and that became their identity.

“I think the change, and I know I’m very well, Vincent Kompany made with Burnley, they changed the style of play and that’s a project he did in one year, but now he needs to show it in the Premier League.

“So that’s something comparable I think.”