BY ALAN TEMPLE – @CCP_Sport
FORMER Rangers manager Dick Advocaat is adamant he had no desire to be the new Holland manager before agreeing to take charge of the national side for a third time.
The 69-year-old, who will be assisted by Oranje legend Ruud Gullit, will take up the role when his current contract with Fenerbahce expires at the end of the Turkish season.
However, Advocaat has emphasised that he did not apply to become Danny Blind’s successor, insisting he was hand-picked by the Dutch Football Association [KNVB] to rescue their ailing World Cup dream.
He told De Telegraaf: “It is nonsense to say I dropped down on my knees to ask for this job. I had no desire to be the Holland coach and I did not see myself as a realistic candidate.
“If others have suggested my name, or if the KNVB have been advised to select me, then that is not because I asked them to. They came to me, not the other way round.
“I know what it takes to build momentum in the group, it will not takes months for me to have an effect. I will look to have a good atmosphere, energy in the team and a clear way of playing.”
Holland are now fourth in World Cup qualification Group A after five games, six points behind leaders France and facing the ignominy of a second successive absence from a major tournament.
Advocaat, who managed the Dutch national side from 1992 to 1994 before taking the reins again between 2002 and 2004, will begin his third tenure with a must-win encounter against Luxembourg on June 9.
