On Thursday evening, the Mauves host Antwerp FC in the semi-finals of the Belgian Cup. The tie comes shortly after the departure of head coach Besnik Hasi last Sunday. Edward Still, who is taking charge on an interim basis, addressed the press on the eve of the match. “It’s an important game for the club and I’m really looking forward to it,” he said ahead of the cup fixture, for which the last tickets are now available. Watch his full press conference now on Mauve TV.
A calm and composed Edward Still spoke to the media on Wednesday, after what he described as an emotional week. “Saying goodbye to Besnik Hasi was difficult. Over the past few months we’ve built a strong bond by working closely together every day. We were always clear and honest with each other. Besnik is a gentleman, someone with class, and he has always proven that,” Still said.
The question now is what this squad needs to get back to better results. “Confidence,” Still replied without hesitation. “That’s something we need to rebuild quickly. Look, we can’t erase the poor performances of recent weeks, but step by step we have to rediscover that confidence. And that starts with doing the basics right.”
“We’re going to try to build on what is working well, but we won’t blindly continue in the same way as before either. The players haven’t always shown their best side in recent times,” the interim coach acknowledged. “They need to rediscover that in order to deliver the best possible result against Antwerp. A win would represent a first step towards stability. We can focus on many different things, but results remain the most important factor,” Still added.
The interim coach immediately faces a tough challenge with the cup semi-final against Antwerp FC, but it does not intimidate him. “I’m 100 percent focused on this match. You don’t play a semi-final every week. It’s an important game for the club and I’m looking forward to it.” With just three days between the match in Liège and the cup tie against Antwerp, preparation time is very short. “That doesn’t make it any easier to prepare the game down to the smallest details, but that’s the situation we have to deal with.”
On the final day of the transfer window, Still saw winger Nilson Angulo leave the club. Coba De Costa was brought in to strengthen the attack. “He’s immediately included in the squad tomorrow. He’s fit and has a very good profile. Whether he’ll start remains to be seen, but it’s up to us to integrate him as quickly as possible.” Elyess Dao returned to the Futures last weekend and is available again, while César Huerta and Mario Stroeykens are making progress towards their return. “Ludwig Augustinsson is also feeling better and might be able to rejoin the group sooner than expected,” Still explained. “For Marco Kana, it’s still too early to put a date on how long he’ll be sidelined.”
“It’s not about me, I’m here for the players and for the club,” Still responded when asked about his ambitions. “This club wants to compete for trophies, and the first step towards that is tomorrow. Hopefully, with the support of our fans, we can show a different face tomorrow compared to the last few weeks and bring the match to a successful conclusion.” The final tickets for the Belgian Cup semi-final against Antwerp are available at ticketing.rsca.be.