Tuesday, 20 July 2021 at 17:56• Rian Rosendaal

Roger Schmidt sent a clear signal to Mohamed Ihattaren at the press conference on Tuesday afternoon in the run-up to the meeting with Galatasaray in the second qualifying round of the Champions League. The PSV trainer looks back on what, in his eyes, is a ‘difficult year’ with the attacking midfielder in Eindhoven. However, Schmidt refuses to write Ihattaren off and the collaboration is given another chance.

“At the moment, Mohamed is just one of my 23 players,” emphasizes Schmidt at the press meeting in the Philips Stadium on Tuesday. “Those players are all fit, that’s good, so he’s definitely an option for me.” The midfielder then receives a clear message from his trainer. “It was not an easy year for him, but also not with him. But every preparation is a new opportunity to show you as a player. He does that, he fights for his minutes,” said Schmidt, who immediately indicates that Ihattaren still has a lot of steps to take as a professional football player.

“In what way he has to get better? He has to become more reliable. In what? In terms of tactics, mentality and motivation. So in all respects”, the PSV coach tells the only nineteen-year-old midfielder. Schmidt is also looking ahead to the first confrontation with Galatasaray on Wednesday evening. The Turkish top club has a messy preparation, partly due to a number of corona cases, but the German is nevertheless wary of the upcoming opponent.

“Galatasaray is an extremely experienced team and has a coach in Fatih Terim who has been through everything. Like us, they have had a somewhat different preparation than in recent years, but will certainly be well prepared at the kick-off of the game,” warns Schmidt his squad. Nevertheless, the coach remains confident in a continuation of PSV’s European adventure. “We have the key to qualifying ourselves. We have to be convinced of our playing style. We have worked hard for this preparation.”