Ajax manager Alfred Shreuder has dismissed the seriousness of Calvin Bassey’s possible injury ahead of the clash against Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League (UCL). In the final minutes of the league tie against Heerenveen, Bassey left the field in great pain but in an interview with ESPN, Coach Shreuder assured of the availability of the Super Eagles defender for the encounter at Anfield tomorrow.

“We were able to switch well. Maybe we switched the last player a little too early, but I thought we could do that. Fortunately, Calvin Bassey is not so bad. It was a kick in the calf, so that’s not too bad,” he said.

A little later, the trainer adds: “He (Bassey, ed.) said it’s no problem.”

Following the scintillating display of his lads in the league where they thrashed their opponent 5-0 at the weekend, the coach believed they are primed for an entertaining clash against Liverpool. “We deliberately looked purely at this match and put our full energy into this match. Then we’ll see you again on Tuesday (tomorrow). It’s a busy period, but it has to be game by game.”

With Ajax unbeaten this season, the excited coach expressed satisfaction with Bassey and teammates’ performance in their win over their visitors on Saturday.

“I am most satisfied with the fun and energy the boys radiate. It just looked really good in terms of field play. We also scored quite early, a great goal. We knew we had to keep the ball long against them and switch sides a lot. You have to get them moving before the space comes,” Schreuder added.

He however, admitted: “Sure, but that’s because we were concentrating. We have achieved that ourselves. The first 30 to 35 minutes we played well, but after that we had a few counters. Remko (Pasveer, ed.) took the one-on-one well and we were not quite in the right position. At halftime we indicated that we had to keep playing around it and get into the half-rooms from the side. Not from the centre, because then they look good.”

source: The Nation