Bullish Calvin Bassey insists all the top teams will go through a rough patch as criticism poured in for the Ajax defender after a difficult week for the Dutch giants.
The Nigeria international left Rangers in a bumper £19 million summer switch, but has come under scrutiny from Dutch football legends after Napoli ripped the Eredivise title hopefuls apart, cruising to a 6-1 victory in Amsterdam. Fingers were again pointed at Bassey during the 4-2 win over struggling FC Volendan with lapses at the back allowing the rock bottom side to cause Alfred Schreuder's men a scare.
Dutch legend Marco van Basten has been among those who has been fiercely critical of their recruitment policy after spending £95 million this summer having brought in £190 million from player sales, while Ajax hero Marciano Vink insisted the deal to bring in Bassey was a massive downgrade on Lisandro Martínez who joined Manchester United. Netherlands hero Wim Kieft claimed his performance against Volendan had "hurt his eyes."
However, Bassey was keen to focus on the positives of getting back to winning ways ahead of their Champions League rematch with the Serie A league leaders. He said: “All great teams have a little bit of a shaky period. I think we showed good character to stand tall and come through it.”
When pressed on his feelings on the heavy defeat to Napoli, he said bluntly: “How do you think it would be after that? Of course, it was not nice. Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of it.
“But the most important thing for us is to try to wipe it clear and go because we do have quality in our team.
“We showed it a lot more near the beginning of the season, the quality we have and how we can play. It’s just about getting back to that level.”
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