Phillip Cocu was presented Monday morning at Philips Stadium as PSV's new head coach. Cocu, who signed for four seasons, will do so together with Ernest Faber and Chris van der Weerden. He also hopes to add Ronald Spelbos to the staff, including as analyst. With champagne the collaboration was then concluded.
Phillip Cocu walks into the press center for the press conference.
Cocu on Advocaat and Van Bommel
Phillip Cocu began the press conference by thanking current head coach Dick Advocaat. "I want to thank Dick Advocaat, he has given me the opportunity to be very flexible in a role at PSV's first team. We have worked well together, it is a great trainer with a lot of experience." He also had nice words for Mark van Bommel. "For Mark, that was a difficult decision to put a point behind his career after so many years at the top. It was made even harder for him by the supporters, who really made him doubt. PSV of course loses a player with a wealth of experience, but ultimately the club will benefit from that as a coach and this absolutely fits into the club's vision."
Phillip Cocu signs a four-year deal.
"I am ready to go and do it"
Cocu continued by looking back on his own development as a trainer. "I started to find my way in the coaching profession step by step, and in doing so there are some parallels to my career as a player. I am someone who likes to take a conscious step-by-step approach. I briefly took over from Fred Rutten last season, with the same staff we will be working with this season. That was a great experience. Then I consciously took a step back, also to see what talents there are within our youth academy. You can do that better if you work and train with them on a daily basis. I think that was a very important step for me. I'm now ready to do the same at PSV 1. I am eager to start this job with Ernest Faber and Chris van der Weerden. Building a new team, with change within the selection, but we need the time for that. With PSV we will always have to compete for prizes, but we have to remain realistic. Hopefully we can still extend the punishment with Ronald Spelbos. He has a lot of experience and fits perfectly into the picture of how I see the staff. There will also be another trainer on the physical side. We want to work more with individual programs, developing players is central. As a team but also individually in order to regain the successes within the club."
Tiny Sanders, Chris van der Weerden, Phillip Cocu, Ernest Faber and Marcel Brands raise their glasses.
"Yield of youth training has to increase significantly"
Phillip Cocu signed a contract that commits him to PSV for a longer term, four years, after the press conference: "If I start something I want to do it well, that's why I accept the challenge with the club. The investment in training has to increase in order to make it easier for the talents to progress to the first team and become regulars. We must find a balance in the future with players from our own training. The belief must start to grow that this step can actually be made, provided of course that the players possess sufficient quality and talent and are willing to work hard for it. We are also going to do that with a number of former players who know the club a little better. Together with the trainers who are already there in our training we have to guide our talents optimally, we want to do that with André Ooijer, Mark van Bommel and Ruud van Nistelrooy, among others. The yield of the youth training must increase considerably, I am convinced of that." Ernest Faber and Chris van der Weerden also signed their contracts after the press conference.