STVV goes to the Bosuil on Sunday to face national champion Antwerp. At his weekly press conference, coach Thorsten Fink cautiously looked ahead to next season, raising a warning finger: “If we want to take the next step, we have to keep the skeleton of this team together.”
The Canaries start the competition with the motto ‘nothing is mandatory, everything is allowed’. The primary goal has been achieved by securing conservation and that tempted Fink to look further. “The season is not over yet, because there are still thirteen games ahead of us. But I already want to warn about next season. If we want to take the next step, we have to keep the skeleton of the team together. If five or six players leave, we will be back to square one.”
“Of course there is a real chance that some offers will come in that the club will not be able to refuse,” Fink continued, after which he addressed the boardroom: “But we must remain vigilant to ensure that it does not become an exodus. If we can broadly keep this young team together, we can aim higher next season. Hopefully the players themselves realize that.”
Opponent Antwerp easily qualified for the cup final on Thursday evening after a 3-0 victory against second division KV Oostende. “I don’t immediately see it as an advantage for us that they still had to play on Thursday. On the contrary. They gained confidence because the match had already been played at half time. So they didn’t have to go to extremes. For Antwerp this was a glorified practice match.”
Suzuki: “Mentally grown after the Asia Cup”
Zion Suzuki was also present at STVV’s weekly press conference. The Japanese goalkeeper kept a clean sheet against Westerlo for the second time in three games. “And that is good,” said Suzuki. “Only I immediately conceded four goals in that second match against Anderlecht, which should not have happened.”
Suzuki is gradually climbing out of the valley after a difficult period in which he accumulated mistakes. Also with the Japan national team, where he was given the wind after the early exit at the Asia Cup. “I learned a lot at that tournament, especially mentally I grew. Now I feel ready to make the most of STVV in these last three games before the start of the play-offs. We have nothing to lose against Antwerp on Sunday.”
