This just in

After Standard and Valencia, another important game at Sint-Truiden is programmed. The games follow soon, we interviewed coach Adrie Koster, 24 hours before the game against STVV.

Text by: Hans NOYELLE

Hi Adrie, Club was only eliminated by the Spanish top team after prolongations. Did you expect that this group would be capable to perform this well when you signed your contract for black and blue last summer?
"Well I didn’t think about it at the time. One of our objectives was to get through the European group phase. When we qualified for the group phase, we were already relieved, but playing so well against a big team like Valencia is certainly not bad. We even had a chance to score in the final minutes, but we missed precision. Our European games were amazing, especially if you compare our budget with the one of Valencia which is 140 to 150 million euros a big difference with the 20 million euros of Club."

What should happen to let all the key players stay another year at Club? Win the title, or play the pre-qualifying games of the CL?
"According to me all the key players are still under contract. We will try to keep the group together. If you want to win a price, nobody can leave unless of course we would receive an amazing offer."

Many fans state: "After 4 moderate years, Koster learned Club to play football." It was quite logical that your contract was prolonged. Congratulations!
"Thanks. It was obvious that both parties had the same objectives. The Board was pleased with my work and I am happy to be in Bruges. It is quite logical that we continue to work together. I will soon discuss my long term objectives with the Board."

After Club-Standard the fans of Club were described by the press as the best influence, the most Flemish of all Belgian fans. Do you agree with them?
"Absolutely. It is terrific to play for our fans, the team really benefits from the fanaticism of our great fans."

Can you compare the fans with those of Ajax?
"Not at all, the experience of the Club fans is totally different than at Ajax and with Dutch football. In Belgium, the impact on the group is much bigger."

Tomorrow Club plays at Stayen. It will be another tough game after a European away game which lasted 120 minutes.
"Indeed, it won’t be an easy game, but we gained confidence after our good European performance. It the mind is good, you are capable to do great things, and you don’t think about your physical condition. We want to win the maximum points in our last three games in order to reduce the gap with Anderlecht before the play-offs."

A last question: is it an advantage not to have European games during those play-offs?
"I don’t know, sometimes you can get positive energy after a European game. I feel the European qualification it is a great performance of the Belgian clubs. The extra CL-ticket is a real advantage."