Wouter Burger opens up Stoke City transfer decision, Mark Robins and why he won’t sulk
Big interview with Wouter Burger as he explains what happened when Stoke City rejected a bid for him from FC Midtjylland
Wouter Burger knows timing is everything in football. His response to Stoke City rejecting a transfer bid from FC Midtjylland at the end of the January window has been his best run of performances of the season, and possible his whole time at the club. Yet he knows that’s also been down to playing free of injury, the balance of midfield and the manager.
The 24-year-old was honest and mature as he spoke about his form and everything else in the build up to Stoke’s crunch home match with Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday night (8pm).
“I think when I didn’t play so well you realise what you have to do better,” he said. “From that process of not playing well, you learn and you take things with you. I always put in my head that from the moment I feel good, I’ll try to put those things together.
“From the change of manager, Mark has given me a lot of confidence. Of course there was the situation in January and I got even more respect for him in how he handled everything, how honest he was with me. He gives me a lot of confidence, I feel he’s the right man for Stoke and the right man for this team.
“I feel really good and sometimes as a football player everything just comes together and I feel really comfortable playing under him. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t feel comfortable under the other managers but at the moment it’s just clicking. Timing is everything in football and I’m playing well.
“Hopefully we can turn this around and as a team we can take more points because I can play as well as I want but we have to win more games. That is obviously still the most important thing.”
The situation in January, of course, was that interest from Midtjylland. There had been mutterings mid-way through the window but the Danish suitors were warned that if they left it too late, they would be knocked back. So it proved on deadline day.
A player’s reaction to that was always going to be interesting and Burger is pleased that he has left no-one in any doubt that he wasn’t going to sulk.
“The first thing I did was go into the manager’s office to say this and this happened, we can put it behind us and I just want to move forward and do everything I can, give everything for Stoke City,” he said.
“I am here under contract and have a beautiful life because of the club who is paying me. People who do not do that are absolutely stupid. Look at the life we have, we should be thankful. Of course everything in perspective, I was a little bit disappointed but this is football and we move on. I wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t show any reaction on the pitch. Never mind moaning or moping around, I just want to play football. That’s what I like to do. I move forward.
“Luckily, I’ve also played well and you haven’t seen any reaction in the performances. I have a feeling that everything is coming together, I’m really happy with that and now I really want more points and more wins for Stoke. That’s our next goal as a team and a club because we are really close every time.”
