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Van Persie: ‘First half unacceptable, it starts with fighting spirit’
Jeremiah St. Juste calls the 3-0 loss at PSV Feyenoord unworthy. “This is a very hard lesson,” said the defender of the Rotterdam club. “You can see the difference between number one and two in the Premier League. We will have to work very hard to get close to PSV.”
Embarrassed, the Feyenoorders thanked the supporters who traveled with them in the Philips Stadium. During the match, the fans quickly wrote the text on a banner: “We are mice again instead of elephants!!”
It is a reference to a Feyenoord song recorded by the selection that became champions in 1993. The text reads: “At European level, Feyenoord has its say, we are an elephant again instead of a mouse.”
Saying that word is indeed disappointing at the moment. The Rotterdam team was eliminated from the Europa League this week with only six points from eight matches. And thanks to Sunday afternoon’s loss, the difference with leader PSV is now seventeen points in the Premier League.
If Robin van Persie’s team is not careful, the coveted second place, which entitles them to Champions League football next season, will be forfeited. NEC, Ajax and also city rivals Sparta are breathing down their necks.
View the summary of PSV – Feyenoord
“I understand the emotion of our supporters,” said coach Van Persie afterwards. “That is right. We are all very disappointed. I think you can lose a match, that is part of football. But how we presented ourselves today is unacceptable.” The coach also uses the word Feyenoord-unworthy.
Van Persie: “We gave the game away in fifteen minutes, that was entirely our fault. The intensity was not high enough. The dueling power… often we did not even get into duels, the second balls were all for PSV. We were late everywhere. We did not follow our man at crucial moments. Then it is right that you are 3-0 behind after seventeen minutes.”
St. Juste about a quick starting position: ‘Not ideal, but wanted to help the team’
St. Juste played his first match for Feyenoord after arriving on a free transfer this winter. A year ago he last played a full match with the Portuguese Sporting CP.
“This was done in good consultation, but it was not an ideal situation. It has been a lot of puzzling for the trainer in recent weeks with all the injuries. I wanted to be there, help the team, I wanted to be there for Feyenoord. But it was an intense match. It is actually unacceptable how PSV overruns us in the first minutes.”
What now? “We have a lot of quality within our team, but it is too unstable, especially defensively,” says St. Juste. “We have to work on that. It is very difficult with all the changes in the team, but we have to do it.”
Van Persie: “Every match starts without all the bells and whistles with intensity and dueling power; giving everything you have, following your man. Just work really hard. We fell seriously short in that regard in the first half. It was a bit better in the second half. Although PSV also slowed down a bit, that may have also played a role. But it was still far from good enough. We created far too little.”
Van Persie doesn’t want to know anything about resigning. “No, absolutely not. I have been asked that question many times recently. And the answer is the same. But ultimately the responsibility lies with me, that’s right. I am the head coach.”
