Ruud van Nistelrooy had hoped that PSV would now be further than it is. The trainer was honest after the draw at Vitesse and put his finger on the sore spot, Voetbal International reports.
Van Nistelrooy was satisfied with PSV’s start in Arnhem and his team had already taken the lead in the eighth minute through Xavi Simons. The coach hoped that goal would provide an extra boost, but the opposite was true.
He said: “We kind of got bogged down in playing around. It got a little passive with the lead. While you just have to keep going and move more, let the ball go faster and you have to dribble. That all failed to happen.”
He found it frustrating that his team seemed more concerned with keeping the score than pushing on and getting a bigger lead. Even after Vitesse’s equaliser – which was an own goal by Ibrahim Sangaré – the fire did not flare up among his side.
Van Nistelrooy was disappointed and did not hold back: “We didn’t create anything from the game in the second half and that is very disappointing. Reaching a high level throughout the game is where we need to go. That is not yet possible and that is disappointing.”
With eight rounds to go, the coach does not want to draw firm conclusions about the prospects for PSV in the battle at the top. The gap to leader Feyenoord is eight points and Ajax has better papers for the battle for second place. That is painful for PSV, which could have struck a blow in Arnhem after Ajax’s defeat against Feyenoord.
Van Nistelrooy added: “If you look realistically at the position, you don’t draw hard conclusions, but you do draw soft conclusions. Everyone is sick of you not winning. But I am even more disappointed with the level we achieved today, especially on the ball.”
