Edgar Davids entertained the media ahead of Saturday’s match against Cheltenham Town at The Hive on Friday afternoon.
The Dutchman revealed all on Saturday’s match, the Npower League Two relegation battle and his future at the club.
He also spoke highly of new loan signing Kyle De Silva and the impact he can have on the team during his stay.
You have bought Kyle De Silva in today on loan from Crystal Palace, will he be available to take on Cheltenham Town?
ED: “Kyle is not available for the match on Saturday but he will be for next week’s match against Dagenham & Redbridge. From what I have seen he can be a great asset for us.”
Did you see much of him when you were with Crystal Palace?
ED: “When I was at Palace he wasn’t in the first team but we have a good relationship with the club and we often go to the Under-21 games. You see some talents there and sometimes you have the possibility to get one of them. Kyle is one of them and we are glad we have the opportunity to have him here.”
It is incredibly tight at the bottom of Npower League Two, are you or your team feeling any nerves?
ED: “I do not feel any nerves. For us nothing different happens and if you look from when I first came here we were already relegated. If you are already in that position what more can you lose? Now you have an opportunity to redeem yourself and we want to take that chance with both hands. If not it was not meant to be but we have put in a great effort. For us it is just another day in the office because every game is a final.”
Have you set a point target that you think will keep you in the division?
ED: “I think what keeps you up is if you have one more point that the last two clubs. That will definitely keep you up! I think last year it was 46 points but I don’t think that will be enough this year.”
How important is it to be playing league football at the new stadium in August as opposed to non-league football?
ED: “It is very important. Everybody is aware of that and we also know that the whole structure is driven on a League Two budget. If you go to the Conference then it will be a setback but not one we cannot overcome. It will only take longer to reach where we want to be.”
Do you hope to be in charge of this club at this stadium at the start of next season?
ED: “Yeah I hope so but this is football, next week can be very different to the week before. We have put everything in place and we are working on a structure to take the team to the next level. On a certain degree we have already done that, we have a lot of talent in the youth team who will be ready next year and of course a couple of talents will have to be signed. We are working for the future but the most important thing now is staying in League Two.”
You’re a former Champions League winner and now you find yourself in a League Two dogfight, what is the comparison between the two?
ED: “I think there is more of a comparison between winning a title and fighting relegation. In both scenarios you have to win every game. Every game is must win and in every game we have played so far that has been the case but sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t that is why we are still there fighting. It is simple we have to win. That is the same with a title race because if you do not win you will fall behind your rivals. The intensity and pressure of winning is the same.”
Cheltenham are currently pushing for automatic promotion so how difficult do you expect this game to be because like you said they desperately want the points too?
ED: “It will be a very tough game and it is like a final because both teams need to win. We both badly want it and we will both put everything into the performances on Saturday. They need the points because they are pushing for promotion and they do not want to let that opportunity slip and we need them because we want to stay in League Two. It will be a very intense game but I hope the coin falls in our favour.”
On a personal level how does this challenge, trying to keep Barnet in the Football League, compare to the rest you have faced in your career, is it the toughest one?
ED: “It is not the toughest but it is one of them. With other teams you were at a different level and you had to start winning but we have started behind our rivals and had to catch up. I think it is the same as when I went to Barcelona, when I took off in the plane they were 17th, when I landed they were 14th and they asked me to bring the squad to second place. Now it is the same, we have to stay up and I will do everything in my power to help the organisation and the team to achieve that mission.”
