In his 4.5 years as technical manager Sjoerd Ars of Fortuna Sittard, the ex-pro has regularly been disturbed by the negative image surrounding his club, he revealed in an extensive interview.
Ars mentioned, “Of course we have Turkish owners, who are perhaps a little more emotional in the event of a loss than a Dutch chairman. Although, when I think of the presidents of FC Utrecht and De Graafschap… That’s the charm of those men, you hear. With us they are immediately Turkish scenes. I don’t want to call it racism, but people often use double standards in the image.”
Ars also looks in the mirror and acknowledges that he has made mistakes. Despite doubts last summer, continue with Sjors Ultee, for example, and still fire him after three games. He added, “It was the right choice for the club, but we should have made it in the summer afterwards. A number of boys had done very well the year before, but started to behave differently. Still, they kept the faith. There was a feeling in the group: whether you play well or badly, as long as you have a big mouth, you will play anyway. That is not possible.”
Ars acknowledges that he has made mistakes
Both Ultee and predecessor Kevin Hofland said after their dismissal that they were pressured to field certain players. Ars qualifies: “A trainer can make his own choices. But as a club we do indicate things. Under Sunday Oliseh about Perr Schuurs, for example. He was only seventeen, had just left the youth, but we said: that boy represents value, he just has to play. The sequel is known. As a club you also have an interest in the value of players, a trainer does not always see that. It’s not a question of 100 percent force. We say: we would like to see it that way. I would also find it strange if that were not the case.”
The technical manager does not think that trainers in Sittard should walk on a leash. “I sometimes had discussions about it with Kevin. He thought that as a td I should always watch a training. I say: ‘We think you are capable enough to lead a team and train the players. If you go through the center of Sittard with a pink skippy ball all day long, but I see that the boys are developing well and we are getting good results, then it will work.’ Trainers have a lot of freedom with us. Probably more than at other clubs.”
