Phillip Cocu told the press conference that for his team Wednesday night the only thing that mattered was the win against Excelsior. "This was for a chance to catch up. Unlike last year, we have to chase now. If a rival then drops points, you have to make sure you strike. That's what we did," Cocu said, referring to Ajax's points loss Tuesday night.
Cocu demands sharpness
According to Cocu, his team was only concerned with one thing Wednesday night: winning. Nevertheless, there was a phase in the second half when PSV could have worked on the goal difference, something that may well be decisive given the small difference in the league table at the end of the season. "We fail to catch up on the goal difference, that's true, but in the end the win is the most important thing. That's what I told the team before the game," Cocu said. "Of course you prefer to win with good and beautiful play, but it's about the points." The coach therefore called his team's victory deserved, but also saw some points that could be improved. "We slackened off too much after the opening goal. That's something that can't be done. At halftime I told the boys to be sharp and that paid off."
Alfons Groenendijk: PSV biggest contender
Excelsior coach Alfons Groenendijk sees PSV as the biggest contender for the championship. He told this during his analysis on the match. "PSV have a mental toughness that is needed for that. I think they are the biggest candidate for the title," Groenendijk said, though he was satisfied with the game his team had shown. "This was the best Excelsior of recent weeks. We just didn't reward ourselves. After halftime we told ourselves we were going to do a lot of good things, but the plans could quickly go in the trash. PSV finished off their chances immediately. The goal adds some luster to the evening, I hope they award it to Van Weert."