Mbaye Leye wants to strike immediately in 2023: “Vormer and Brüls provide a new impetus”

“That red card at Stayen has been consumed”, the Essevee coach came back to that annoying passage on a visit to STVV. “I thought it was important then to say what I thought of that red card. We also saw afterwards that I was not suspended. It was a simple discussion, nothing more. I still think the red card was way too strict. That has seriously mortgaged our party. With ten men it was almost impossible for us to play football together.”

“However, our first 20 minutes in Sint-Truiden were fine. Then we could also create some chances together. With ten men we could no longer make a fist offensively. By the way, there was indeed a strong playmaker at the opponent, which we have been able to pluck away in the meantime”, smiles Leye.

The arrival of Christian Brüls, just like the transfer of Ruud Vormer, is therefore without doubt a considerable injection of quality: “We all know Christian. He has proven enough in recent years what he has to offer. He is one of the best players in the Belgian league and can decide a match. We needed someone with his qualities. Age is therefore subordinate to talent.”

“Christian still plays like a 20-year-old boy. Ruud should of course no longer be introduced. Both football technically and in terms of leadership qualities, he adds something extra to the team. When you have a young team it is normal that you can use that experience. That mix should enable us to ensure retention,” says Leye, who has not immediately spoken enthusiastically about a possible transfer from Vormer. “I couldn’t say much about someone like Ruud, could I? There was nothing concrete, then I shouldn’t say anything about a player from another club. Everyone understands that Ruud and Christian are ball-proof, but can also create something. We really needed that!”

“His body language speaks volumes”

Leye realizes that guys like Vormer and Brüls can be of great value: “Ruud’s motivation is also enormous. His body language speaks volumes. That will also help the team. He has nothing left to prove but he can make the team grow. Those two guys provide a new impetus in our dressing room. That is why we deliberately chose experienced guys who know this competition. These are two real winners. You immediately notice a change in training: players do not hesitate to give the ball to Ruud or Christian. The other boys immediately recognize their qualities. That immediately creates a new dynamic.”

Still, Leye still asks for some patience with his Dutch midfielder: “Ruud didn’t play for a few months, you can’t just erase that. What I saw of him in training makes me feel good. He clearly wants to help us. At training you immediately notice that he can teach something that we didn’t have yet. Of course he cannot hide the fact that he has hardly played since February. We will have to take a good look at that.”

On the other hand, Leye is also looking forward to additional reinforcement: “We also need a defensive reinforcement. That is obvious. We are also working on it. We want to be better defensively. You have to find the right target for that”, said the coach of Zulte Waregem, who still has to miss a lot of boys this weekend. “Tambedou is yellow suspended. That’s puzzling again. We also miss guys like Vossen, Drambaiev, Willen, De Buyser and Braem.”

“However, we have no other choice: we want to start 2023 well. Sixteen league games remain. In Belgium everyone can beat each other. We cannot look too far ahead and must focus purely on Mechelen. Let’s not count too much. Regardless of Sunday’s result, we still have fifteen matches left. We will still experience ups and downs, but we just have to keep working hard. January is going to be tough but the idea is clear: we take it match by match. The next game is always the most important.”