After the game against KRC Genk, we gathered reactions from Igor Thiago, Maxim De Cuyper, Hans Vanaken, Denis Odoi and Nicky Hayen.
Igor Thiago: "I work hard every day to improve myself"
Igor Thiago scored the 3-0 against Genk with a wonderful blast. Despite the hard work in attack, it had been several months since the Brazilian striker last made his way to the scoreline.
"I'm very happy that I scored again today. To score you often have to take time. You have to work hard, continuously improve yourself every match. Today it finally worked out. I didn't lose confidence because of not scoring. You just have to stay calm and relaxed. The goals will come, that's football. Despite my transfer, I keep working hard every day to improve myself. Now I'm playing fine football, helping the team by scoring. I'm so happy with that. That goal was just "shoot!". From my position, I have to try to aim at goal. I ended up aiming the ball into the far corner."
Club is in full contention for the title. "We deserve this. We are working hard and we deserve it right now. We have the chance to be champions, we now have to keep going like this on this momentum. Everything is possible in life, we have to improve ourselves every game like today. There are still nice some fixtures awaiting." (KN)
Maxim De Cuyper: "This shows the flow we are in now"
Maxim De Cuyper also picked up his goal. The young defender scored the fourth goal, depriving Genk of that last glimmer of hope.
"The score doesn't really reflect how the game was in my opinion. Genk was also fine in the first half. Despite the big chances we already had there, we didn't further the score. 4-0 is maybe a little too heavy. We played 1v1 the entire game, making the most of the space with their not fast, but strong central defenders. I actually wanted to deposit the ball in the far corner. It's just all going our way at the moment and it shows the flow we are in. I hope this momentum lasts for as long as it can. We'll see where we end up. I hope we have recovered adequately on Sunday and can bring back that intensity. That's the most important thing in this final phase of the league. Everything's fine in everyone's head. Everyone has found new energy. That just shows on the pitch. We regained our breath. That's hard to explain, but it's positive for us."
Except that the onslaught of games might possibly cause fatigue. "It's a mental thing. When you're ahead 4-0 you can still run for 90 minutes, when you're behind you want it to be over sooner rather than later. Although it will be important to recover well towards Sunday."
Club is now a fullblown contender in the title race. "We are in it now and we did a good job on this matchday together with Anderlecht. But if we lose twice on the road, it looks very different. We both have matters in our own hands, so what will it take? Winning our own games. We feel that since we are in the flow, we have the fans backing us throughout. We felt as if there were 12 of us today, you had that impression on the pitch and inside the stadium. How great was that after Thiago's goal, that's just beautiful. We don't feel any pressure. We hunt more than we defend. That's a small advantage." (KN)
Hans Vanaken: "Taking it one game at a time"
Club Brugge hammered KRC Genk on Match Day 5. No goal for Hans Vanaken, but a broad-smiled skipper did have an assist to his name in what turned out to be an almost perfect night at Jan Breydel.
"This victory is very pleasing because it is the result of a good match. We were the dominant team from the opening minute and of course an early goal like that always plays to your advantage. Particularly in games of this splendour, even if we had plenty of chances to score even more. And this against a Genk that has also been in very fine form of late. We added another early goal in the second half, and fortunately Michal (Skoras, ed) was in the right place to cleverly extend my assist into goal. I am particularly happy for him because he has already been involved in five goals since the start of the play-offs. The reason? First of all, he now getsthe necessary playing time, and seems to be grabbing those playing opportunities with both hands. Throughout the season he has been able to convince us of his qualities at training, and they are now showing during matches. Besides his talent, he also has a lot of commitment and that pays off. A bit of a similar story with Thiago, who also works very hard for the team and also scored today. To boot, we kept playing after that 2-0 and were able to systematically build on the lead."
In addition, Vanaken also had words of praise for a strong Denis Odoi. "Denis was very strong today and that proves the strength of this selection. The coach will have a tough time picking his team over the weekend. It also means, though, that solutions can be found for every injured and/or suspended player."
When asked whether it will be a two dog race with Anderlecht from now on, the midfielder had a clear answer. "You might come to that conclusion after this match day, but come Sunday it might be completely different again. Before the start of the playoffs we were completely written off, now we are barely two points off the first place. Nevertheless, it remains important to stay calm and keep taking it one game at a time. After all, a particularly tough schedule still awaits us." (MV)
Denis Odoi: "Grab this momentum"
"Strong and frisky" were the two key words of the now 36-year-old Denis Odoi's match, provoking a big smile on the Ghanaian Belgian's face.
"That's nice to hear but ultimately nothing more than that. Besides, my header just before halftime really always should have been targeted. Fortunately, the team corrected my mistake well in the second half and, especially after the break, we were able to push the lead further and further in a great way. But 1-0 or 4-0: what's most important is that we take three very important points today. On the other hand, it is crucial to stay calm and keep our feet firmly on the ground because we are still only halfway through these play-offs. So there are still a lot of points to be won but also to be lost. But obviously this win is a gratifying one, and we should try to keep this momentum going. I'd also like to highlight that all four goals were scored by four different players. The early 1-0 gave us wings but on the other hand there was also the balance and equilibrium within our team and we stayed well-organised. Moreover, we defended our result after the break by continuing to attack."
The same recipe for Club next Sunday at Genk? "My job was to disrupt the Genk midfield as much as possible and to keep El Khannouss and El Hadj in particular in check. But Sunday will be a different game and Vrancken will probably choose a different approach. It's up to us to be armed against that." (MV)
Nicky Hayen: "All the pieces of the puzzle came together perfectly"
Club Brugge put in a tremendously strong performance against Genk, with a whopping 4-0 victory as a result. Nicky Hayen was obviously very satisfied with his team's performance.
"We came out of the locker room very well, grabbing them by the throat from the first second. Add in an early goal five minutes into the game, and you know you can set the stadium on fire immediately with a spark like that. All the pieces of the puzzle came together perfectly today. If everyone does their job both offensively and defensively, this group is capable of a lot. The players are getting a lot of recognition now and rightly so. All credits to them. If the players have confidence and work for each other, you can achieve performances like this. But it is obviously a question of keeping this up until the end of the season. Even on rest days you have to be very professional and take enough rest, because on Sunday there's another important game."
With the press praising Hayen's performance at what had been a lacklustre Club before his arrival, Club's T1 chooses to keep both feet firmly on the ground. "I remain level-headed. I know how quickly things can turn around in football. To earn recognition is not the most important thing for me. It should go to the players, especially if they perform the way they are doing now. As a coach, you just have to make sure the players can shine on that stage. That's the most important thing for me. I'm also a little surprised with how well things are going now, but we just worked very clearly from the beginning on certain patterns and principles. If you lose the first game, you immediately get a bash, but now we are in a positive flow. Sometimes it's a matter of hitting the right strings and that's what you see at the moment. We are now trying to keep that up until the end of the season."
Igor Thiago's goalles draught now also over, the stadium erupted seeing the Brazilian's strike go in. "When you see how the whole group has sympathized with Igor, it just says it all. He works extremely hard for the group and that is greatly appreciated by everyone. We knew those goals would come back one day. Let's hope this goal will provide a boost of confidence and hopefully sets him off again." (SF)