''We have to play football ourselves. If you've got the ball, the opponent is less dangerous'', opened Van 't Schip. ''If we can play our game more, Brighton will also be vulnerable. We have to make sure they don't get to play football. We have to be cocky and have the opponent run after us. Brighton are a good team, but we are also good."
"We have to play a different game at home than we did in Brighton. That's why we have to tackle it as a team. We need to be compact against Brighton, but also want to play forward more. For a good result the pressure needs to be kept on here too. These are steps that need to be taken. We'll see who the favourite is on Thursday.''
Brobbey also has thoughts on Ajax's chances against Brighton: ''We need to be on the ball and stay there. Whilst also finding the right pressure opportunities tomorrow.''
Shortly before he stepped in as the new Ajax coach, the club played an away game against Brighton. In England, it finished 2-0 for the Seagulls. Van 't Schip: ''But what is done is done. Playing defensively at Brighton I can understand. We're going to do it my way now. At Ajax, you have be intent on playing forward football. Tomorrow is another game against a very good opponent. It will be interesting to see how we react and what that does to our self-confidence. The only thing is that we now have four games behind us. We are going into a new game. With every game we need to grow and get better. That applies to every match.''
Basically fit
After which the coach delivered the good news that Borna Sosa, Carlos Forbs and Deyne Rensch are fit again. ''It went well in training yesterday; they are basically fit to go.'' Among other things, it will be interesting to see who will play as right-back.
''The difference is experience,'' Van 't Schip continued. ''Rensch has yet to turn 21, but he knows what it means to be an Ajax player. Gaaei is new and comes from Denmark. That step has been a pretty big one. Every week you see him making strides. There's a difference in that in terms of experience, playing big games.''
The good news was also followed by less good news. Branco van den Boomen will not be there on Thursday due to a knee injury. It's also questionable whether he'll be fit on Sunday, for the game against Almere City. The midfielder was injured in the home game against sc Heerenveen. Van 't Schip will not decide who will replace Van den Boomen until after Wednesday's training session.
The process
''We look for the strongest possible team before every game in order to get a good result and progress,'' Van 't Schip concluded. ''We now want to win as many games as possible and subsequently hope to play more games in Europe. We do want to make those moves. Most important for us now is the process. We will monitor the process and have to ensure there are automatisms on the pitch.''
The Ajax coach thinks qualifying for the next round is realistic. We have to win tomorrow. After that, there's still AEK-home. Tomorrow will be an important match. If you win that one, the chances of qualifying for the next round are high.''
