John van ‘t Schip misses leaders at Ajax, he says again after the match 2-2 draw against Excelsior. According to him, the team is immature in terms of balance and that does not help at a club like Ajax, where there is a lot of pressure. He also attempts to explain the players’ susceptibility to injuries.
Does Van ‘t Schip ever wonder what he has gotten himself into? “What do you think?” he responds with a laugh. ‘It is indeed not an easy season. I can’t blame the boys. It is a team that wants to, but it is a young team. For many, this is the first year at Ajax. For others it’s age. We miss real leaders in the team. With the pressure and name that Ajax is, it is not easy to enter the field with high expectations every time.’
The reporter on duty notes that a trainer with the status of Pep Guardiola would probably not get the current Ajax up and running. Van ‘t Schip can’t do much with that. ‘You have to ask Pep that. I think he is a very good trainer. Surely he would have put it in some way. When the boys look back on this year and wonder when they learned a lot, it is this year. It just doesn’t help me at all.’
In addition to the immaturity, the injury sensitivity of the current group of Ajax players is also striking. According to the trainer and former player of the club, it is partly due to the season that the Amsterdam team is having. ‘It also gets into the head. The boys have a lot coming their way. They are also young players who feel pressure. That may have something to do with it. Brobbey has been up and down a bit all season. That is very difficult, especially for him,” said Van ‘t Schip, who said that Carlos Forbs was injured during Tuesday’s training.
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With the players he has at his disposal, Van ‘t Schip must defend fifth place for the remainder of the competition. It is therefore difficult for him to explain the way in which the Ajax players started the match against Excelsior. ‘We wanted to play in the same way and bring the same energy as against FC Twente in the second half. It probably has to do with the pressure, but also with the quality that may not be there yet. It is an immature team in terms of balance. That hasn’t changed, because it’s been that way all season.’
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