Steven Berghuis argues after Ajax v Heerenveen: 'Had a good upbringing?'

Steven Berghuis gave an irritable response in the mixed zone on Sunday evening. The Ajax winger was asked about coach Míchel’s rotation policy and made it clear he did not want to comment. "I decide for myself what kind of answers I give," Berghuis concluded.

Ajax flew out of the blocks in Sunday’s home game against sc Heerenveen. The Amsterdam side led 2-0 after half an hour through a Bernt Klaverboer own goal and a long-range strike from Abdellah Ouazane.

Then the game turned. Jakob Trenskow pulled one back for Heerenveen before Maxence Rivera drilled in the 2-2 late on, forcing Ajax to settle for dropped points.

"Generally, new signings with you have to train with the team for four or five weeks, but at some point they have to be ready to start or to play a bit longer, don’t they?" Berghuis is asked.

Berghuis responded with a touch of sarcasm: "Let me just have a look. The coach is coming too. This seems more like a question for the coach." He was then asked: "Yes, but how do you see that?"

Another journalist tried a different approach, asking how long, in Berghuis’s experience, it takes for everything to click at the start of a new season. Berghuis replied with a laugh: "You thought, I’ll take a different angle. Good education, have you?"

The journalist pushed on: "There has been significant investment, when are we going to see those boys? You’ve been through these kinds of processes before. I’m not asking an 18-year-old lad."

At that point, Berghuis had clearly had enough: "Yes, and I decide for myself what kind of answers I give. As a 34-year-old," he concludes.