But a stuttering return from the winter break has seen them draw three consecutive games, twice against 10 men, and they have been overtaken at the top by champions Anderlecht.

Anderlecht have 54 points from their 20 matches, while Bruges have 51. Each side have 14 matches left to play.

Bruges, runners-up last year and with their last title in 1998, are desperate to bury the bogey of almost-rans to Anderlecht, the wealthy, high-flying club from Brussels.

Dumped out of both the UEFA Cup and the domestic cup, Bruges now have to overhaul Anderlecht and regain their momentum. That is always a difficult task for any side.

Meanwhile, Anderlecht are still in the Champions League and rubbing shoulders with the likes of Real Madrid, Lazio and Manchester United.

Bruges have also been distracted by an ongoing investigation into Yugoslav players' agent Ranko Stojic who is alleged to have offered Bruges officials cash to sweeten transfer deals.

The club informed the Belgian FA but has been criticised for not doing so sooner. One assistant trainer was fired.

Last month, the Belgian authorities said they were handing over the case to FIFA, the sport's world governing body.

A week before Christmas, Bruges were motoring and had a mid-season three-point lead over Anderlecht.

Three scrappy draws against Excelsior Mouscron, Lokeren and, last Sunday, Standard Liege, have seen that lead whittled away by an undefeated Anderlecht, who now have a three-point cushion.

Friday's league fixtures could be the key to deciding who gets the silverware this season.

Anderlecht entertain struggling Antwerp while Bruges travel to bottom club La Louviere who on Tuesday brought in French title-winning coach Daniel Leclercq to try to turn around their season.

Failure to get back to winning ways could kill off Bruges' title aspirations.

No one at the club can put their finger on where it has all gone wrong since the Christmas break.

Some blame the difficult wintry conditions, with recent games held on icy or muddy pitches which have played against Bruges' strengths of a fluid passing game.

Others point to injuries, which have disrupted what was a settled line-up, and individual loss of form.

'Conditions have been against them. Playing on ice or in the mud makes it far more difficult for Bruges to peg back the opposition which was one of their qualities earlier in the season,' said newspaper columnist and former international Rene Vandereycken.

He added that Bruges, who lack Anderlecht's individual star quality, may now be paying the price of their hard work in the first half of the season.

Westerlo coach Jan Ceulemans said, however, that it was too early to write off Bruges just yet.

'They haven't had the easiest re-start. OK, they didn't win any of those (three) games but they didn't lose either. It's much too soon to say Bruges are out of the title hunt.