Robin van Persie will be hoping to get a win when his Feyenoord side take on Celtic this week in the Europa League. They are in need of one as well. They have lost three games on the trot and four out of their last five. As a result, questions are already being raised about his place and future at the club. Of course, the Hoops have very little scope for error themselves, as they currently sit at 27th in the table. And this will also be Martin O'Neill's last game in charge of the Scottish giants in Europe.
So, both teams have a lot of incentive to go out and get a win this week. The last time Celtic visited De Kuip, they lost 2-0 on a night in which two of their players were sent off. It was not too long ago, back in 2023. But then, they won 2-1 at home against the Dutch side.
Of course, Van Persie was not their manager back then. He was appointed in February of this year and made a very bright start to life at Feyenoord.
Things have gone a bit south lately though. And he will know the importance of not allowing things to slip further out of control.
'Beautiful football club' - Robin van Persie makes superb Celtic claim
At the same time, Van Persie had some words of praise for both Celtic and the club's supporters before their meeting. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, he said via Superscoreboard:
"Every coach, every player is dealing with that stuff the way he feels is best. I can’t really judge that, because I don’t really know how it is.
“So from that point of view, I hope Celtic will get back to their best. Well, not tomorrow. But besides tomorrow, Celtic is a beautiful football club with really passionate supporters, and a really clear way of playing.
“So hopefully, they get back to the best again after tomorrow."
That is a classy statement from the Dutch manager. We will hope for the same for him and his team as well.
Van Persie came through the youth ranks at Feyenoord and broke into senior football there. He would go on to become one of the best strikers in the world eventually, playing for Arsenal and Man Utd, before coming back to retire there.