ABU DHABI 27 December 2018: Newly-appointed Al Jazira head coach Damien Hertog wants to repay the trust of the board by ensuring the club remain competitive on the pitch this season.
Hertog, 44, officially signed a contract with Al Jazira Football Club this month until the end of the season after impressing as interim coach.
Friday’s 2-0 victory over Al Dhafra in the Arabian Gulf Cup, which sealed a place in the quarter-final, was Hertog’s fourth victory in his six matches in charge.
“I am delighted to be named as head coach for Al Jazira Football Club,” said Hertog. “It is the first time in the history of the club that they have appointed an assistant coach as their head coach and I am very honoured to have this position. The board members of the club have a lot of trust in me and I want to give that trust back to them.”
Hertog, a former midfielder enjoyed a 14-year playing career with various clubs in Netherlands including S.B.V Excelsior and De Graafschap.
After retiring in 2008, Hertog worked with Feyenoord’s Under-19 side between 2010 and 2017 before serving as an assistant for Cypriot First Division outfit APOEL FC for three months until August 2017. He then continued his coaching career at Al Jazira as an assistant when he arrived in the summer.
Hertog will aim to continue Al Jazira’s impressive start to the season where they sit joint-second in the Arabian Gulf League with eight wins.
“The most important thing is that we keep on playing like how we started the season,” added Hertog. “We worked on a playing style together and we want to maintain that, but we need to improve our game as well.
“That was creating a lot of chances, dominating the games, playing football from behind and people enjoyed it and so did the players. We think in this way of playing, which is not easy, but it gives us the best chances of success and results and this is the main thing.”
Hertog also revealed a longer term strategy is to develop the players and team to continue the drive towards building a sustainable club.
He added: “Al Jazira is a big club which has won the league and President’s Cup in previous years. The results are very important, but the main focus is to keep improving, developing players and building the club.
“The ambition of the club is to be world-class, not just for one year, but sustainable for several years.”
This weekend’s Arabian Gulf Cup quarter-final will be Al Jazira’s last match of the month before the season resumes in February after the AFC Asian Cup.
