Grim began with an update on the fitness of his squad. "At the moment Ko Itakura is still injured, he will not be involved on Saturday. In addition, the situation of Oleksandr Zinchenko is known." Zinchenko's injury hit the group hard. "Disappointment, but that is logical. You notice it in the team and everyone involved with Ajax 1. Especially when you speak to Oleksandr afterwards. He feels guilty about this injury and is struggling with it. That is typical of the person he is. He said his goodbyes yesterday, because his rehabilitation will not be in Amsterdam. That was an emotional moment."
Berghuis and Tomiyasu
Steven Berghuis' recovery is progressing well. "It is getting better and better. He has consistently been on the training pitch in recent weeks and played minutes in the friendly with Telstar. Minutes in an official match are getting very close."
The same applies to Takehiro Tomiyasu. "He is able to play more and more. He also put in work during the friendly with Telstar and then you hope to be able to extend that to a full match in Ajax 1. How that will go remains to be seen. Can he start tomorrow? Yes, but then he will have to come off at half-time. He can play a maximum of 45 minutes at the moment."
New signing Maher Carrizo trained in Amsterdam for the first time this week. "It takes some getting used to for such a young player, especially because he comes from another part of the world. He has now trained with us for two days and is an enthusiastic player who wants the ball. But logically we will need a bit more time before we can really say anything about him. We will decide after training today whether he will be in the squad tomorrow."
NEC
Then attention turned to Saturday: NEC at home. Grim was clear. "I expect a good match. NEC are a strong opponent who play very quickly and like to go one-against-one. They put every opponent under pressure with a certain opportunism. We both want to win and it is an important match."
Earlier this season Ajax drew 2-2 in Nijmegen. The Amsterdammers played the final half hour against ten men, but could not find the winner. "At that time we did not keep doing what we had agreed beforehand. That will be different tomorrow, because we are further ahead now than we were in December. That is reflected in the agreements we make with each other now, the defending and the clarity. We have taken steps in that. We want to keep more players behind the ball and be less open when we are in possession ourselves. That means fewer chances conceded and fewer goals conceded."
"In addition, we are working hard to be more clinical with the chances we create. We still have too many moments that we let slip. It will be a match with passion, intensity and many duels. And we must do that better than we did in Nijmegen,” said Grim.
Mokio and Gaaei
Finally, Grim was asked about both Jorthy Mokio and Anton Gaaei. The latter recently became a member of the Club of 100. "If you play one hundred matches for Ajax 1, that says something. Anton alternated good moments with lesser matches in the past. He is a full-back with enormous drive, who wants to push forward and can score a goal. But you also have Lucas Rosa in that position, who plays slightly more cautiously and is also defensively reliable. We look at what we need for each match."
Then Mokio. Grim knows what the potential is of the young Belgian, who scored against Fortuna Sittard. "He is very young and an emotional player. When things are going well, he is happy and cheerful and shows the very best side of himself. But he also has moments when things are more difficult, and that is logical at his age. Then he comes to me or I check in with him. He is a good footballer, has enormous drive, is technically skilful, but still has to learn to manage matches. The responsibility he has in the position where he last played is significant. He has to stay focused throughout the entire match. That is a challenge at his age, but he is making progress in that."
