Anderlecht appointed their fifth head coach of the year on Thursday with Franky Vercauteren installed for a third stint in charge, although Vincent Kompany remains the nominal manager.

After Anderlecht finished fourth last season and missed qualifying for Europe for the first time since 1964, Kompany was appointed player-manager in July.

After a disastrous start to the season he was replaced as game-day coach in August by Welshman Davies, who had also come from Manchester City where he coached the reserves.

But Anderlecht's poor form continued. They sit 13th in the 16-team Belgian league with one win in nine matches.

"After intense internal consultation in recent days Frank Vercauteren takes over the position of Simon Davies, who remains at the club as a coach," said the club on their website.

The club also said it had "decided to separate" from technical director Frank Arnesen, a Dane who previously held the same position at a string of clubs including PSV Eindhoven, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.

The statement said that Kompany "continues to embody Anderlecht's style of play and football vision" but "he now receives, in the person of Frank Vercauteren, an experienced coach who will obviously bear full responsibility on match days" and act as "consultant" for Kompany's "innovative project."

The 62-year-old Vercauteren, who had been managing second-division Louvain since February, signed a two-year contract.

A winger he played for Anderlecht from 1975 to 1987, winning four Belgian league titles, two Cup Winners Cups and a UEFA Cup as well as 63 Belgian caps.

He rejoined the club as a coach in 1998, took over briefly as caretaker later that year and as permanent manager from 2005 to 2007, when he led them to two Belgian titles, the first with the young Kompany on the team.