Gent captain Kums honoured in Belgium

Gent midfielder Sven Kums received the 62nd Belgian Golden Boot as his nation's player of the year for 2015, with the Buffalos dominating the awards on Wednesday evening.

The 27-year-old former Anderlecht trainee, who joined Gent in 2014, finished 166 points ahead of team-mate Laurent Depoitre in the final reckoning, with team-mate Danijel Milicevic finishing third in the poll of sports journalists and football dignitaries.

"Actually, I did not prepare anything for this," Gent captain Kums said. "I especially have to thank my team-mates. Any member of the team could have ended up in my position on this stage here. They all have done fantastically well. This award is an award for everyone at Gent, for a fantastic year, also for the fans."

Yet to make his senior international debut, Kums was a key player in the club's first ever Belgian title triumph last season, and helped them reach the UEFA Champions League round of 16 this season, where they will meet Wolfsburg.

The awards kept coming for Gent: Hein Vanhaezebrouck was elected coach of the year, Matz Sels took the prize for the top goalkeeper and Nicklas Pedersen was acclaimed for having scored the best goal.

Coach Vanhaezebrouck quoted the late David Bowie as he looked ahead to the next challenge, saying: "We can be heroes just for one day, but tomorrow we have to prepare for the next game."

Elsewhere, Anderlecht's Youri Tielemans retained his title as young player of the year, while Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was acclaimed as the best Belgian abroad.