New Cape Town Spurs coach Ernst Middendorp has said he wants his players to start games with a higher intensity, and not just raise their game when they are trailing.
Middendorp was speaking after bottom-of-the-DStv-Premiership Spurs lost 2-1 to Royal AM at the DHL Stadium on Saturday evening, in the German’s first game in charge since taking over.
There were a number of things that unsurprisingly disappointed Middendorp, and he said the team would be training early on Sunday as they look to rectify their issues.
“I will start with it now and we are at seven o’clock training tomorrow and then we will see,” Middendorp said at the post-match press conference.
When asked by iDiski Times about how his team’s intensity increased in the second half when trailing, and whether it had given Middendorp thoughts about his selections, Middendorp said it is something he is going to look into.
“It’s not untypical,” Middendorp replied.
“I can’t explain, I try to research, probably I will do it the next night, probably I have nothing better to do. As a team you are one down, probably you have it seen 1000 times, and all of a sudden they do better, all of a sudden they are more active, of course to chasing or whatever in terms of nothing to lose, I don’t know what it is.
“I just asked myself why you cannot then do it immediately with 0-0 and going into it. It’s difficult to explain.
“Sometimes, ja, it’s definitely true what you say, so far I will confirm it, but to sit here now to say why, what and how to work on it. We have to address it, we have to face it, we have to put it to the point, and that’s our doing.”
Spurs will have little time to work on things as they are back in action on Tuesday, when they host Stellenbosch at the DHL Stadium.