It’s surprising, but Fred Vanderbiest didn’t shout at his players after the draw against Dender. The Mechelen coach is disappointed because his team concedes too many goals.
Fred Vanderbiest admitted that his team didn’t play well enough. For him, Dender deserved to come away with a point. He regrets that Mechelen conceded a “stupid” goal for the second time.
Should we change tactics? “No”, replies the coach, “we have only conceded 4 goals out of 22 in this way, despite the numerous changes in defense. What annoys me is stupidly giving away fouls or corners. When I see how we offer the corner which brings the 1-1, it is beyond me.”
He was a little annoyed when asked if he had yelled at his players. “I’m going to say it again for the 27,000th time: our goal was to save ourselves and embarrass the big guys. Being 5th with 31 points after 20 games is a very good result, especially with our young players. That doesn’t stop us from being disappointed by this draw.”
To explain Saturday’s poor form, the coach mentioned the injuries. Some players, like Halhal and Kireev, were only able to play 25 minutes. He wanted to finish the match with the players who started.
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Despite a long list of absentees, the coach refused to make excuses. “I’ve never made a fuss about it and I’m not going to start today.”
