We’ve now entered the final three months of the season. Happy with where we are?
If you were saying before the season, that we would be in this position, then we would have been pleased. But we want to go to a higher level, right? We always want to aim high and that’s what I like about this football club.
Saying that, we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves, can we?
Regardless of what happened in the previous game, if you’ve won, lost or drawn, the next game is always the next challenge and you just have to focus on that. You can’t say, “Oh, in two weeks we play this team, or in five weeks we play that team”. No, it’s always about the next game and that’s all we focus on as a team.
With Dan Burn now gone, you can play centre-back as well as full-back and perform equally well in both. Is that down to your background at Ajax?
That's a nice thing from Ajax because in the youth academy, every trainer was an ex-professional and each one has his own skillset. One would focus on heading, another was focusing on passing, or it was positioning. So through the youth we got everything from a different kind of gaffer or coach. I think that was a great thing for my development.
Graham Potter is a flexible coach. How have you enjoyed playing in different systems and with different personnel?
It’s good as it can surprise the opposition and it also keeps us as players sharp as well. Sometimes in the past, players might know that they’re not going to be included in the team and you've got more, “I’m not playing, I can take it easy now.” But you can’t do that here and that’s a good thing. It keeps everyone sharp and I think that’s why we’ve played some great games and have climbed the league. The gaffer takes great credit for that, but it's also Bruno, Billy, Bjorn, they do it together and all credit to them.
Is it difficult taking on board different tactics or does it keep things interesting?
It keeps it interesting but I think it's also good to get one great aim or one goal in your team. Let's say if we want to play through the lines and everybody knows that, when you win the game, it’s a great accomplishment for the gaffer. It’s a great thing for the players as well.
It looks a lot of fun to play in this team...
It is – especially how we play. We love to press. We have to suffer as well because sometimes you have to defend – especially against good teams – but when we win the ball back, it's a great feeling as well. That kind of environment we create – or the gaffer creates – is a really good one.
Would you say you’ve developed since making your Premier League debut last season?
Quite a lot. I remember in the Dutch league you can be so much smarter than the opponent but over here the opponent will put his body into you and you can do nothing. So yes, I’m even more smarter now than I was then.
Finally, what’s been the highlight of your time here so far?
I would say my whole time in the Premier League and the fact that we stayed up last season because we were fighting with Fulham a little bit. It’s also great to see us playing good football and being much higher in the table this season. We’re getting better all the time, which is a good thing.