Justin Heekeren: We push each other in every training session

Justin Heekeren on…

… the training camp:
It was a short, but very rigorous training camp. I think every player pushed themselves to the limit. We can be very pleased with the week we’ve had overall.

… the friendly matches:
In my opinion, we put in two good performances against two sides competing in Europe in FC Midtjylland and Dynamo Kyiv. Not everything was perfect, but I think you could see that we showed intent on the ball and have improved from last season.

… the rest of pre-season:
Now, we need to keep on working hard and focus on improving the little things over the next three weeks. For example, we need to stop conceding simple goals. We’ve let in some too easily in pre-season. We’ve been pretty good in attack so far. The number of goals we’ve scored in pre-season speaks for itself.

… his loan spell in Belgium:
The half-season at Patro Eisden Maasmechelen was really good for me. I picked up a lot of match practice at a high level, and I got good feedback and a lot of praise for my eight clean sheets. It was definitely the right decision for me to go out on loan.

… competition for places in the team:
I’ve been told that it’s still up in the air who’s going to be our starting goalkeeper. I’m not someone who shies away from competition, so I’m going to embrace this fight for places. I’m trying to give everything in training and in matches to impress the coach and show the team that they can rely on me. At the end of the day, the coach will decide who starts against Eintracht Braunschweig on Matchday One. We have a very strong group of goalkeepers. There’s no point in letting it intimidate you. We push each other in every training session and are pleased when whoever plays puts in a good performance.