John van't Schip begins his reign as Ajax interim head coach with an Eredivisie encounter against FC Volendam at the Johan Cruijff Arena on Thursday evening.
While the hosts remarkably sit rock bottom of the table after enduring their worst-ever start to a top-flight season, the visitors are just two points and two places above them in 16th.
Match preview
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A week after parting company with Maurice Steijn, Ajax announced on Monday that John van't Schip will take charge of the senior team on an interim basis until the end of the season, before "stepping into a function in technical management from July 1, 2024."
The 59-year-old, who made over 300 appearances for Ajax as a player between 1981 and 1992, returns to management almost two years after leaving his role as Greece national team manager, and was encouraged to go back into coaching by his wife before she sadly passed away earlier this month following a battle with cancer.
Van't Schip returns to 'his club' Ajax for the first time since taking charge of just one match as an interim coach back in 2009 – beating FC Twente 1-0 – and the Dutch-Canadian is tasked with steadying a ship that has sunk to new depths following a disastrous start to 2023-24.
Assistant coach Hedwiges Maduro was in charge of Ajax's last two games in all competitions, including last weekend's humbling 5-2 defeat at PSV Eindhoven – a result condemning the 36-time Dutch champions to five successive league defeats for the first time in their 123-year history as well as extending their winless run in all competitions to 10 matches.
Ajax were leading 2-1 at half time courtesy of goals from Branco van den Boomen and Brian Brobbey, raising hopes of securing a much-needed victory, but PSV eventually turned the game on its head in emphatic fashion, with four goals scored in the space of 23 second-half minutes to maintain their perfect start to the season.
Although Ajax have played two fewer league games than PSV, the Amsterdam giants remarkably sit 25 points behind their Eindhoven-based rivals at the summit, and are merely focused on climbing out of the relegation zone; a victory over Volendam on Thursday will certainly be welcomed by the Ajax supporters, but claiming maximum points may not be enough to see them move out of the bottom three just yet.
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Volendam have only fared slightly better than Ajax in the Eredivisie so far this season, but they enter Thursday's contest on a high after winning two of their last three matches.
Either side of a 2-1 loss at RKC Waalwijk, Volendam picked up their first three points of the campaign in a 1-0 home win over Utrecht at the beginning of October before securing a 3-1 home victory against Excelsior last weekend to move off the foot of the table.
Despite trailing at half time, second-half strikes from Benaissa Benamar and Robert Muhren turned the game on its head before teenager Milan de Haan added a third with his first senior goal to wrap up the points for Matthias Kohler's side.
After narrowly avoiding relegation in 2022-23 in their first season back in the top flight, Volendam are hoping to evade the dreaded second-season syndrome this term, but their form away from home requires much improvement if they are to steer themselves away from another battle at the bottom.
Indeed, Het Andere Oranje are the only Eredivisie club who are yet to pick up a single point on the road so far this season having lost each of their first four away matches, extending their winless away run in the league to 13 games dating back to January.
Having said that, Volendam admirably claimed a point in a 1-1 draw the last time that they visited Ajax 10 months ago, while they have scored in each of their last six meetings with the Amsterdam giants, providing optimism for Kohler's side ahead of Thursday's clash.
Team News
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Ajax goalkeeper Jay Gorter and defender Devyne Rensch are both facing at least a few weeks out due to injury, while Geronimo Rulli, Sivert Mannsverk and Amourricho van Axel Dongen are also in the treatment room.
Carlos Forbs and Borna Sosa both missed last weekend's defeat at PSV due to knocks, but they should be in a position to return to the matchday squad on Thursday, with the former pushing to start on the left flank and the latter in contention to play at left-back.
Van't Schip will likely consider making a few changes for his first game in charge, with Jakov Medic, Benjamin Tahirovic, Silvano Vos, Georges Mikautadze and Chuba Akpom all hoping to force their way into the first XI after beginning on the substitutes' bench last time out.
As for Volendam, Koen Blommestijn, Luke Le Roux, Brian Plat, Joey Antonioli and Robin Maulun are all nursing injuries, while captain Xavier Mbuyamba missed last weekend's win over Excelsior due to illness and is a doubt for Thursday.
Josh Flint could continue at centre-back alongside Benamar should Mbuyamba miss out, with both Oskar Buur and George Cox expected to retain their places at full-back.
Kohler is unlikely to make too many changes to his first XI, with Newcastle United loanee Garang Kuol set to continue in the front three alongside Muhren – who has scored four goals in seven games this season – and Bilal Ould-Chikh, while De Haan, Damon Mirani and Calvin Twigt all link arms in centre-midfield.
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Ramaj; Gaaei, Medic, Hato, Sosa; Van den Boomen, Tahirovic, Taylor; Bergwijn, Brobbey, Forbs
FC Volendam possible starting lineup:
Backhaus; Ouur, Benamar, Flint, Cox; De Haan, Mirani, Twigt; Ould-Chikh, Muhren, Kuol
We say: Ajax 2-2 FC Volendam
Van't Schip will be keen to put his stamp on Ajax and make an immediate impact, but success on Thursday is not a given considering Volendam's upturn in form in recent weeks.
Both teams have been leaky at the back so far this season and have scored in each of their last five meetings with each other, so goals can be expected in this fixture, but we believe that Volendam will do enough to hold on for a point in Amsterdam.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
