Peter Bosz is pleased with the attitude of the PSV players towards the battle for the Johan Cruijff Shield on Sunday against Go Ahead Eagles. The coach notes a big difference compared to a year ago.
After the lost battle for the Johan Cruijff Shield against Feyenoord (4-3), Luuk de Jong said that the PSV players had been complacent. That complacency festered throughout the season. Trainer Peter Bosz complained about it several times.
PSV made selections after last season for a reason. Among others, Malik Tillman and Noa Lang left and with, among others, Ruben van Bommel and Yarek Gasiorowski, several players came to Eindhoven.
Bosz sees that the motivation is fully back at PSV. “I see a big difference compared to last year,” Bosz said Friday in Zeist at the press conference towards the Johan Cruijff Shield. “This is what I want to see. The group is fresh. That is totally different from how I found the group last year.”
PSV collapsed in a remarkable way last season, while the team still had a nine-point lead over Ajax at the winter break. Because the Amsterdammers collapsed anyway, PSV still won the league title. Yet the collapse worried the Eindhovenaren.
“We have discovered a number of causes,” Bosz said. “We struggled with injuries. A number of other things were less tangible. It does not give certainty that it will not happen again this season. You never have certainty, but the confidence is great.”
Bosz remains silent on goalkeeper issue
Bosz did not want to say on Friday who will be in goal for PSV on Sunday. The battle is between Orange international Nick Olij and the Czech Matej Kovár. Both keepers did not have a flawless preparation.
“I’m going to tell the players and the keepers themselves on Saturday first,” Bosz responded. “They don’t know it yet. I have made up my mind.”
‘Good opportunity for revenge’
But Bosz has not forgotten that Go Ahead surprised earlier this calendar year by winning 1-2 against PSV in the semi-finals of the cup tournament. A few days later, Go Ahead was again too strong at home (3-2). “They have thwarted us twice,” said Bosz. “So you want revenge. This is a good opportunity.”
New captain Jerdy Schouten also hopes that PSV will now win against the Deventenaren. “I’m not going to compare the Johan Cruijff Shield with the title. But it remains a prize. It is especially important for the feeling that you win this pot directly. It is nice that we are now playing for real again.”
According to Schouten, the defeats against Go Ahead from last year mean little anymore. “In those matches we sometimes played well and did not deserve to lose. I am confident that we can show that we are the better team.”