Veldman: "Turning those chances into goals now"

FRIDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2022, 23:43 - lajoya
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INTERVIEWS Robin Veldman talked about a lot of things after the game against Silkeborg. Happiness prevailed, but he also saw things that could be even better. "I am very happy for Anderlecht, but also have to give Silkeborg compliments," he said.


"This is a very happy moment for everyone who cares about Anderlecht," Veldman began his explanation to Sporza. "Especially given the period we are coming out of. Little by little we are also getting more control of the game. That was the case throughout the first half now. After the red card we play it out very maturely. We are growing in that."

"Compliments for Van Crombrugge and Silkeborg"

Actually, Anderlecht should have already had the victory in their pockets at halftime. "Absolutely, we had to lock it much earlier. It was the same against Eupen on Sunday. That says enough about our potential to create chances. Now we still have to convert it into goals, though."

So why did things become so difficult after halftime? "I have to give Hendrik a big compliment, especially after all the criticism he received. Today he deserves a big compliment. I also want to pay a compliment to Silkeborg. How they played their positional game with ten men, forced us to make choices and kept playing from right to left. With their fast combination play they made it very difficult for us."

"In the first half we got to their sixteen and even though we didn't get a chance, we kept the ball. That's how we kept them under pressure. After halftime, we lost those balls. That allowed them to build up. The build-up from the goalkeeper was their most dangerous attack. We have to work on that. We have to defend more compactly around the ball to prevent deep play."

"Changing Delcroix to avoid second yellow"

Why the contribution of Hoedt and Raman? "Delcroix already had a yellow card. Given Silkeborg's offensive play, where they often came up on the right and Hannes was already embarrassed once, we absolutely wanted to prevent him from getting a second yellow. That we immediately made a second substitution was substitution management. You only have a limited number of substitutions (five substitutions spread over three substitutions, ed.) and wanted to make sure we could still change in the slot should someone cramp up."

What does this qualification mean for Veldman personally and his ambitions as a head coach? "I don't have to go through the club with my chest out, mind you. I'm not doing this alone. We have a whole staff that also has to be very flexible with double duties and the switch from the pledges or the U14 to the first team."

"Physically there is still stretch to it"

At the press conference, Veldman elaborated on the difficult second half. "We were overrun by ten men. Several guys play a lot of games and physically there is definitely still stretch to it."

According to Veldman, they are now working with different parameters than under Felice Mazzu. "We are starting from scratch again with our data and demanding different actions from the players." For example, Veldman wants more short, intense runs from his flank players, while Mazzu expected long runs on the wing."



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