Rik De Mil: “Thrilled to see how strong my team is mentally”

“We are really happy with this result. As I mentioned prior to the game, we only had one goal, and that was to take the points here. I know it's a bit of an awkward situations, with three teams still up for the title. In the end, there was only one thing on our minds, and I am really happy that my team showed just how strong they were mentally. We kept going until the very end, and I am thrilled to see that they played away all doubts. I do expect to be getting several questions, but I also feel like certain people insinuated a thing or two in the past weeks, and I am happy we reacted well and claimed the three points here.”
The fans at Club might not be that thrilled, seeing Antwerp become champions after all. "I don't know about that, but I can imagine that different people will be having mixed feelings right now. We're professionals, doing our job. We are working hard, day after day, and when you see that this group still wants to perform and wants to go for it 100% (even after that early second-half 1-0)... you can only applaud that as a coach. It just shows how hard this group can work.”
With a goal and an assist, Shion Homma proved his mettle. “He's a player who has been making a lot of progress with the Club NXT squad. In his first year in Belgium too, so it took some time adapt here too. He's a very likeable guy, working really hard, so I take it we'll be hearing more of him in the future.”
Rik De Mil also brushed upon his own future. “We'll be seeing what the future has in store for me, as we'll be talking with the board then. It's clear that Club Brugge really wants me to stay. That's great, of course, as I've been here for nine years now. The appreciation and the fact that they are asking me to stay is just great, as it follows from the work I have done here so far. We do have to sit back and take stock of things and see what the options are, and only then I can take the right decision. There have been rumours of going to England, but that's just not true. I have always been very open and honest about everything, so I can tell you with a clear mind that that option is not there right now. There are other options, but we have to take a bit of time to see what the future has in store", a clearly satisfied Club coach concluded. (TM)