Meijer points to ‘sum’ for NEC deception

NEC’s season is slowly fading out. The team from Nijmegen still had a small chance of making it to the play-offs for European football, but had to achieve a good result against AZ to do so. However, that did not work, NEC lost without a chance with 0-3. Trainer Rogier Meijer thinks he knows the cause of the defeat.

NEC players busy with transfers

Meijer tells in conversation with The Gelderlander that the start of the game was still quite nice. “You saw that today (Sunday, ed.) in the first twenty minutes. Only you can now see that if things don’t go the way we want them to, we don’t play the way we used to.”

According to the trainer, this has a reason. “The 100 percent sharpness and the work that has to be done is missing. That is the sum of many players who are busy with something else, such as a transfer.”

Farewell to Branderhorst

NEC still has a game to play against Fortuna Sittard, but nothing is at stake for both teams. Meijer hopes that his team will make the best of it. “We just have to play again and we can make something fun of that. That will be the approach. I’m going to think about whether I give players who leave some more playing time, like Mattijs Branderhorst.”

Meijer says in any case that he has to make adjustments to his line-up. “Some changes will have to be made anyway, because Lasse Schöne and Dirk Proper are suspended. We have to show our best side one more time.”