FOOTBALL – The month of April is around the corner and that means that many professional football clubs quickly send out some letters of resignation to players who are at the end of their contracts. That does not automatically mean that the club does not want to continue with the player in question. Nowadays, that letter of resignation has to be seen more and more as a formality.
That certainly applies to FC Emmen, since for the Drenthe club it is all-important at what level will be acted next season. Many contract negotiations will therefore take place after it is clear whether Emmen will be promoted or not.
However, there are of course talks with players and the intentions from the club are certainly known. For example, chairman of the board Ronald Lubbers previously announced that Emmen would like to extend the contract with Miguel Araujo and captain Jeroen Veldmate also knows the intention of the club. “The club is positive about it and the same goes for me. All signals are pretty much green, but in the end you have to get out of it of course.”
‘I never turned around’
But more important for club and players at the moment is the sacred goal, which came a big step closer last week. “I’ve never turned around,” Veldmate says. “From day one, our goal was clear and of course – as it gets closer – there is more talk about it. Also in the media. But nothing changes for me. We have to do what we have been working on all season. You have, in your programs, also often indicated that we are stable and mature and we have to show that in the last seven games.”
‘Unfortunately I had two lines’
Veldmate had to miss last Saturday’s game against VVV. “I had corona. Yes, I read everywhere that I was sick. But if that had been the case, I would certainly have tried it. No, I had two lines in the test and then unfortunately it stops.”