 In his first season, he led Esbjerg to the round of 32 in the Europa League, where they lost 2–4 over two legs to Italian side Fiorentina.This came after advancing from the group stage in second place by beating Standard Liège (2–1 and 2–1) and Elfsborg (2–1 and 1–0), and losing two matches to group winners, Red Bull Salzburg (1–2 and 0–3).Esbjerg had qualified to the group stage after winning 5–3 on aggregate over French club Saint-Étienne.