‘Run, fly, must be going to storm here’
NOS Football–
“Unrecognizable,” is how coach Dick Lukkien described FC Emmen. On Tuesday they painfully lost to Almere City (2-0) in the final of the nacompetition, but the people from Drenthe will not be taken for granted.
At the own Oude Meerdijk on Sunday in the return (18.00 hours) things must be completely different to achieve survival in the premier league. Lukkien: “This is the ultimate match. Then we have to be ultimate prepared. From second 1 it has to storm here.”
Friday morning during training it is hot, but the players no less fierce. Lukkien watches sternly. “There’s no fighting that sun today,” he says, laughing, with sweat on his forehead.
‘We have to run, fly, give everything’
Striker Richairo Zivkovic also talks about “storming.” He is brief, but his look says it all: Emmen is out for revenge against Almere. “We have to run, fly, give everything. The realization is there, this club must not be relegated. We have to do everything about that.”
Watch interviews with Dick Lukkien, Richairo Zivkovic and Ole Romeny below.
Emmen finished sixteenth in the premier league this season. In the first round of the playoffs, the team faced NAC Breda, which was swept aside over two games without much trouble. Partly because of this, the loss in Almere was a surprise to many.
Honor
How things suddenly went wrong? Lukkien: “One side of the team wanted to go forward, the other side was stuck. Then the distances are not in order. On the ball we were sloppy, which gave Almere gasoline to put us under pressure.”
“But you don’t have much time to mourn,” the 51-year-old practice master continued immediately. “That’s what I said after the game. We shouldn’t run away from the truth, we failed.”
Lukkien tastes honor among his players. “The ambition to fix it. Awareness that it was not good, but also the feeling that it was definitely not played.”
Ole Romeny, top scorer at FC Emmen with 12 goals, underlines his coach’s sentiment. Next season the striker may play at FC Utrecht, but he wants to end his period in Drenthe well. “I, we want to keep this club in the premier league,” he said.
The same goes for Lukkien, who will coach the already relegated FC Groningen next season. “I am keen to finish well here for longer. I expect the same from my players.”
“We just have to reach our level – with the crowd behind us – then everything is possible. This stadium has helped us before, we’ve played magical games here. So Sunday should be another one to frame,” Lukkien said.
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