Barely recovered from his African Cup elimination with the Comoros, Rafiki Saïd spoke to Sudinfo about the Rouches’ second half of the season and their chances of reaching the Champions’ Play-offs.
He would obviously love it if Standard reached European football or played the Champions’ Play-offs. “I like stadiums with a fiery atmosphere and you get that here in Sclessin. Of course I want us to play those competitions in this stadium, we all want that.”
“It is true that almost all of us in the group have little experience with the Champions’ Play-offs, but we know that we can only achieve it together, with cohesion and solidarity. No one gets there alone.”
In Liège, pessimism prevails about the Rouches’ chances of reaching Play-off 1. What does Rafiki Saïd think of that? “The positive thing about Liège is that even if you don’t want to read or hear what is said about you, it still reaches you. I am not the type to talk before the final settlement. As a player you know that at Standard you will be in a very demanding environment.”
“So no, I don’t think they are too hard, that is part of the image of the club,” he says. “But if we qualify for Play-off 1, the people who consider us incompetent today will only be able to congratulate us. Staying focused and working hard is the only way to – forgive the expression – keep our mouths shut.”
A successful first half of the season?
Like Marlon Fossey, he finds the first half of the season encouraging. “If you look at the whole thing, despite everything we are still in the top six. Yes, we could have had more points, but we are in a good position. We just have to be more demanding and work harder.”
