Holland coach Marco van Basten refused to get over-excited after his team secured qualification for Euro 2008.
The Dutch booked their place in next summer's tournament thanks to a 1-0 win over Luxembourg on Saturday, but Van Basten was far from ecstatic.
"It is normal that the Netherlands qualify for a tournament," he said. "But we did it with little flair. We scored too few goals and did not play many good games."
The match against Luxembourg was an example of the coach's sentiments. The Oranje did not play particularly badly, but had only the one goal - from PSV Eindhoven forward Danny Koevermans - to show for their efforts.
Van Basten said: "You can say about almost all our games that we scored too few from all the chances we had.
"But we must continue like we are doing now - playing good football and sooner or later it must go better. We must stay positive and keep our heads up high."
The coach added that he had complied with the players' desire to play with two strikers instead of three in Rotterdam.
"You can force them to play in a 4-3-3 system, but that is not what I wanted to do," he said. "And so you try to find a solution.
"It all is about a good performance in the end. We are looking for that, but it is a long-term plan.
"Most of the guys are 22, 23 years old. And especially in the attack we have a lot of potential. I see the possibility of winning tournaments with these players."
Ruud van Nistelrooy and Edwin van der Sar will miss Holland's final Euro 2008 qualifier against Belarus on Wednesday.
Van Nistelrooy picked up a slight thigh injury which forced him to be substituted at the interval on Saturday.
"At half-time I decided that I could not go on," said the Real Madrid striker. "Because I don't want to be out for long, I won't go to Belarus."
Van der Sar heads back to Manchester United in accordance with his agreement with Van Basten.
The goalkeeper only plays in games where something is at stake so returns to his club with Holland's place in the finals now assured.
Maarten Stekelenburg will be between the sticks for the Oranje in Minsk while Van Basten could give Ajax striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar a place in the starting line-up.
"It is normal that the Netherlands qualify for a tournament," he said. "But we did it with little flair. We scored too few goals and did not play many good games."
The match against Luxembourg was an example of the coach's sentiments. The Oranje did not play particularly badly, but had only the one goal - from PSV Eindhoven forward Danny Koevermans - to show for their efforts.
Van Basten said: "You can say about almost all our games that we scored too few from all the chances we had.
"But we must continue like we are doing now - playing good football and sooner or later it must go better. We must stay positive and keep our heads up high."
The coach added that he had complied with the players' desire to play with two strikers instead of three in Rotterdam.
"You can force them to play in a 4-3-3 system, but that is not what I wanted to do," he said. "And so you try to find a solution.
"It all is about a good performance in the end. We are looking for that, but it is a long-term plan.
"Most of the guys are 22, 23 years old. And especially in the attack we have a lot of potential. I see the possibility of winning tournaments with these players."
Ruud van Nistelrooy and Edwin van der Sar will miss Holland's final Euro 2008 qualifier against Belarus on Wednesday.
Van Nistelrooy picked up a slight thigh injury which forced him to be substituted at the interval on Saturday.
"At half-time I decided that I could not go on," said the Real Madrid striker. "Because I don't want to be out for long, I won't go to Belarus."
Van der Sar heads back to Manchester United in accordance with his agreement with Van Basten.
The goalkeeper only plays in games where something is at stake so returns to his club with Holland's place in the finals now assured.
Maarten Stekelenburg will be between the sticks for the Oranje in Minsk while Van Basten could give Ajax striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar a place in the starting line-up.
Copyright (c) Press Association
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