Club Brugge prepare for Aston Villa milestone match
Club Brugge boss Nicky Hayen has urged his players to make the club’s 100th Champions League match an occasion to remember.
Villa’s visit on Wednesday night marks a notable milestone in Europe’s premier club competition for the hosts, who will be backed by a sold-out home crowd at the 29,000-capacity Jan Breydel Stadium.
Hayen, whose team won one and lost two of their first three league phase matches, knows his team are underdogs against table-topping Villa.
But he has urged his players to make themselves proud and said: “It is always special if your club is playing in the Champions League. We have to show pride tomorrow and we are playing against the team who are leading the Champions League and they haven’t even conceded a goal so far.
"We have to take our chances and show that we’re proud of ourselves. Outside the pitch we can be nice to each other, but on the pitch we must do everything to keep the three points at home."
Hayen’s rather nomadic coaching career, which has included a season in charge of Haverfordwest County in the Cymru Premier, hit a high point earlier this year when he led Brugge to the Belgian league title after being appointed caretaker boss in March.
Brugge have been beaten by AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund in this season’s Champions League and Hayen said: "You don’t have to play beautifully to win. Against AC Milan and Dortmund we played well and lost. I want points against Aston Villa.
"I always want to attack and start the game in the same way. Aston Villa likes high pressure and they often have double, triple runs on the ball.
“When we breach their first line, we will get chances. We don’t just want to play a beautiful match, but we have to lose this stigma of having to play well to win."
