Riemer: "Blame not only on midfield"

INTERVIEWS During a press conference, Brian Riemer looked ahead to Sunday's game against Antwerp. Naturally, he also received questions about last weekend's non-performance against Union. "It doesn't require great analyst work to see that our first half was not good, but throwing stones at each other in the press won't get us anywhere," he said.
 


"We're still a young team, as I've said many times. Our first half was not good. We all saw that. That doesn't require great analyst work. Our performance was not good, for different reasons. But we are a team with youngsters who didn't play much and new players coming in - and hopefully a lot of new players coming in - and that means this team will grow throughout the season. As long as we are not complete, there will be bumpy periods that we have to go through. That takes time and we know that if it doesn't march, you'll get more criticism in Anderlecht."

"The last two weeks give a good picture of where we are now. We played a good game against Ajax. Then we showed what we are capable of. Then followed Union where we played a bad first half and an acceptable second half. We need more fortitude. We need to train and play together much more. That's a process we know takes time."

"Too positive? Internally we analyze every detail"

After the game against Union, many said Riemer was too positive in his match analysis. "Too positive? I don't know what that means. I believe in this team and am convinced we have a good squad. But I know it takes time. If something is not right, we will name it and work on it. Of course we analyze the game, every detail. Internally we are hard on each other. Then I say more than during a five-minute press conference after a game. In public and in the press throwing stones at each other, that gets us nowhere."

"We also believe in each other and that's something very important. If you want to achieve something together, you can't stir the pot, but you also can't change your mind every week. We look at performance and commitment. We know that against Union it was not good enough in the first half, but a week earlier I saw a top game against Ajax. For me, this is a normal evolution for this team."

"Midfield could have gotten more help"

Especially the midfield received a lot of criticism after the game against Union. Will Riemer make changes here? "Let me just emphasize that if something is not working in a team, it is not always solely the fault of the midfield. They could have gotten more help from those around them. It was multiple factors that made us not play well. We worked hard on that this week and hopefully we'll see results from that on Sunday."

Will Riemer drop Theo Leoni into the starting lineup on Sunday? "The past few duels he fell in and did very well. He is one of the guys knocking on the door. Whether he starts in the base or on the bench, we'll see on Sunday."

"Growing through the season"

"Again, we are a young team undergoing a lot of changes. We will grow during the season. Our first six games are a very difficult schedule. But I believe we can perform well on Sunday and get a result."

"It takes time to build the team to how we want it to be. It's not that simple that you just bring in some players and boom, the day after, everything works. We know that. We also have the impatience of the fans. We too want it to work as soon as possible. But putting pressure on it doesn't make it go faster. We focus on what is needed. We create a winner's culture and an environment where the players can work hard and grow. It's important to stick to our plan and keep the focus."

"We were unlucky to see Yari Verschaeren out for a long time last season. I shouldn't complain about that now, but he was a very important player for us in midfield. When you lose a key player like him, you have to find solutions. If it was that simple, everyone could do it. But that's one of the difficult things in soccer."

"Top six remains the goal"

"From the beginning we clearly said that our goal is top six at the end of the season. That hasn't changed. Then we'll see what the situation is. I am convinced that the games against Union and Antwerp are not decisive for a place in the first six. We will have to fight with other teams for that place."

"Last season Anderlecht started well, but then went wrong. A good start is nice, but it's important to keep performing well, to keep doing the right things. And you know there are ups and downs."
 

Source: © Internal source