Friday, February 26, 2021 at 2:54 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 14:56

The arrival of Lucas Pratto to Feyenoord has not yet delivered what both parties probably had in mind. The Argentinian striker is sinking further and further in the pecking order of trainer Dick Advocaat and has to settle for a place on the reserve bench every week. The last time Pratto made minutes in Feyenoord’s shirt was at the end of January, when he came in for Luis Sinisterra against sc Heerenveen (3-0 loss) half an hour before time. Advocaat also sees that the striker hired from River Plate is having a hard time.

In recent weeks, Advocaat has opted for Bryan Linssen in the point of the attack, keeping Nicolai Jörgensen, Róbert Bozeník and Pratto on the bench in the point of the attack. “I always tell the guys that it’s not me who drafts them. They set themselves up ”, said Lawyer Friday afternoon at the press conference in the run-up to the game with AZ on Sunday. “If you show that you are better at that position, then you play,” I say. Linssen probably plays better than the guys who don’t play in that position. ”

Lawyer does not indicate that Pratto is unhappy at Feyenoord. “Maybe I should put an arm around him, that could be. I had a talk with him this week. That boy is having a good time. He also knows he has to perform better. Players are not stupid. They know what to do to perform. But at some point you reach a certain limit. As a trainer you only look at what you can be successful with. A trainer always puts down a team that he thinks is the best at that moment. ”

Due to the draw in the away match against FC Groningen (0-0) on Wednesday, Lawyer achieved fewer points (25) in the last eighteen matches at Feyenoord than Jaap Stam in his entire period as a trainer with the Rotterdam team (27). “I think it’s a strange conclusion to draw. That trainer is better than that trainer in eighteen games. How you came up with that idea is a mystery to me. You hear, I don’t start in fifteenth place and I don’t end in fourteenth or fifteenth place. That’s the only thing I want to say to that. ”