Telstar is building a strong foundation for the coming years. The contract of technical manager Peter Hofstede was extended this week. With him we discuss the situation of the club from Velsen-Zuid, the transfer window and of course whether Zakaria Eddahchouri will remain at Telstar.
What made you decide to stay at Telstar longer?
“It is now my third season. I must say that I have seen quite a bit of development in the past calendar year. On all fronts. From the office, club and also sporting. We have made steps in the technical field. Think of digital solutions, scouting programs and physical programs. A bit of professionalization. We are making small steps, but that is nice to experience.
What is it like to be a technical manager at Telstar?
“We are not the largest club in professional football, as you know. You have to work with the limitations that exist. But I see that there is development and that gives a good feeling. I see in particular that the experience around Telstar has become bigger. There are more people in the stadium, there is more positivity and the club has become more visible thanks to new people in the marketing department.”
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Where do you see Telstar being in a few years?
“It would be great if we could make some steps in terms of the player budget. Sporting performance is always the flywheel for the rest of the club. We also see that this season. It just helps enormously in the development of the club and we must continue that. Our goal is and remains: to entertain people who come here to the stadium. We want to perform above average with our resources. These are enormous challenges, but that also makes it fun.”
What are the financial resources now compared to last season?
“I think we are still at the bottom of the first division. I hope we can make some steps there. We also have to be creative with the resources we have. I think we have put together an excellent selection this season. There is something There has been growth financially, but it now becomes the trick to keep players who are doing well. Players must get the feeling that they want to play here.”
What is the division between professionals and amateur players at Telstar?
“We are a training club. We often have to bring in players from the amateur world. Unfortunately, we do not have the opportunity to bring in players from the top first division. As we did with Zakaria Eddahchouri, he simply comes from the second division. So we have There are more. From my memory we have 20 contract players and 6 amateurs. You have to have at least 16 contract players. You have to be able to offer something.”
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“The problem is that players at the top of the second division earn the same as us. These players often have a job on the side. They work during the day and therefore have two incomes. We then have to convince players to still move to Telstar. But the boys who want that have the drive to move forward.”
What is Telstar’s objective this season?
“Our objective is and remains to entertain the audience. And to try tooverperform. It would be illogical to attach play-offs to that. That would be great, but then we would have quite a problem with Telstar overperform. We have only lost once at home this season. Then it is also fun for people to come to Telstar and it is also more fun after the match. Things are actually going pretty well at the moment.”
Do you expect Zakaria Eddahchouri to finish the season at Telstar?
“We have the top scorer of the first division, so there is logically an interest in that. Clubs are inquiring about that. I am curious to see what will happen with him. We would prefer to keep him with us. He is important to us and as If we want to make some more progress in the rankings, then he is also important. But I also understand if there is a club where he would like to go, a step higher, which is financially attractive and where we end up as a club, then it is a club. different story.”
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“Last year FC Groningen was interested and then Zakaria got injured and they pulled out. In the summer there were a few clubs, but we or the player did not come to terms with that. The only thing I want to say about it is that a number of clubs from the premier league and first division have reported to us.”
What are the other challenges this transfer period?
“We are already working on the selection for next season. We are talking to the players we want to keep. In this way we want to try to get the selection in order as quickly as possible. It is nice if you have a mix of experience and some young boys.”