Veldman: "Silva was frustrated with himself"

INTERVIEWS Anderlecht coach Robin Veldman had a conversation with Fabio Silva on Monday about the sulkiness he showed Sunday at Antwerp after his substitution. "That he was disappointed is ok, but this was not the right reaction," Veldman said. The coach went on to say that Silva still needs to get used to his new assignments.


"We talked about it on Monday. He indicated that it was certainly not towards me as a coach or towards the club, but only about his own performance. He expected more from himself," Veldman said. "Fabio really wants to score, but said he hadn't shot on goal in the whole game. It's now a series of games where he hasn't scored and that frustrated him."

"We indicated that this is not the reaction we expect from him. That he is disappointed and has to give that a place, is ok, but this was not the right reaction. With that, case closed."

"Fabio needs to be patient and stay in scoring position"

"Fabio is a young striker who wants to score goals," Veldman also told us. "From his Portuguese background, he wants to help the team and play close to the ball, but we have other players who can make sure the ball gets to him. So he should not pick it up." 

"We help him by showing him images of phases where he doesn't have to retrieve the ball, but that he has to be patient and stay in his position. Then when we play forward, he is in scoring position and he is no longer on the side of the field. 

"We try to tell him clearly what we expect from him. He comes from a system with two strikers. Now we vary with a number ten, two strikers or one striker. In that, he is still a bit searching for the right spaces."