Ajax will continue to play with three defenders in the next games of the season, especially in the duel against Aston Villa, this Thursday, in the round of 16 of the UEFA Europa Conference League. The person who confirmed this information was the club’s coach, John van ‘t Schip.
The coach of the Amsterdam team is confident of a good result, even after the stumble at home to Fortuna Sittard, in the Eredivisie. But he also doesn’t deny that the Godenzonen will have a complicated game ahead, especially with the absence of Steven Berghuis and Steven Bergwijn.
According to the 60-year-old coach, it is important that his team does not get caught up in the excitement of the Aston Villa game.
“We shouldn’t get in their way, because that’s where we give up space. We have to be patient and keep possession of the ball. Whether this will work is another story. They suffered a tough defeat last weekend and will want to give an answer to their fans who are expected to fill the stadium” said John van ‘t Schip.
The manager suggests that Aston Villa will also play with three defenders.
“I have a lot of confidence in this, because we showed against FC Utrecht and in the first match that we can play solidly in this formation. It’s a system that can’t be mastered perfectly overnight, but the players have shown they can play. Furthermore, it will be a fight and we will have to fight a lot with each other” commented John van ‘t Schip.
Jorrel Hato is also confident of a good result against the fourth-placed team in the Premier League.
“If you look at how we did last week, we deserved to win more. We had two great opportunities and gave up little space. So I certainly have a lot of confidence in our team. Maybe it will be a completely different game to what we had last week” said Jorrel Hato.
