Ajax on attack as Dutch season begins

Significant first
PSV kick off at FC Utrecht on Saturday having won the last four titles – and the last two on the final day of the campaign, at the expense of AZ Alkmaar and AFC Ajax. A fifth crown would be a significant first, and also a substantial achievement for former PSV defender Huub Stevens who has replaced Sef Vergoossen as coach. "I won't say we are the big favourites," said Stevens. "We want to go for it in every competition – in the Dutch Cup, the UEFA Champions League and also the league."

Ins and outs
PSV lost striker Jefferson Farfán, goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes and midfielder Ismail Aissati over the summer, with the last-mentioned joining Ajax, yet they brought back custodian Andreas Isaksson and signed forwards Nordin Amrabat and Stefan Nijland. "PSV are champions and everyone wants to beat the champions," added Stevens. "We have to prepare for that by playing the right football."

Ajax hunger
No one will want to defeat the champions more than Ajax, who missed out on the last two titles in dramatic last-day scenarios, the first together with Alkmaar. Newly installed as manager after four years leading the Netherlands, one-time Ajax golden boy Marco van Basten will not get to coach defender John Heitinga, who has left for Club Atlético de Madrid, but has recruited plenty of other talented players.

Expensive players
An estimated €28m has been spent on attacking creativity in the form of Darío Cvitanich, Miralem Sulejmani and Aissati, who will all hope to feature as Ajax take on Willem II in Tilburg on Saturday evening. "We really need to become champions again here at Ajax," said the 43-year-old Van Basten. "That is what everyone wants at this club and hopefully we can reach this turning point."

Keynote changes
Four more clubs have changed coach. Rob Maaskant will struggle to emulate Ernie Brandts's third-placed finish from last term at NAC Breda, and Steve McClaren has a big job succeeding Fred Rutten at FC Twente. Meanwhile, at SC Heerenveen, Trond Sollied has taken over from Gertjan Verbeek, who in turn has accepted the challenging role of Feyenoord coach.

AZ ambition
The Rotterdam outfit lost the Dutch Super Cup game 2-0 against PSV, yet given their injury situation that was hardly surprising. With striker Jon Dahl Tomasson back on board, they will aim for better. AZ Alkmaar will also demand an improvement after finishing eleventh under Louis van Gaal last season, and the return of Maarten Martens and Stijn Schaars from long-term injuries augurs well.

Play-off changes
Finally, the end-of-season play-off system has been overhauled. The sides finishing first and second will now go into the UEFA Champions League, while the third and fourth-placed teams are guaranteed a UEFA Cup place. The clubs who come between fifth and eighth positions will battle for the final UEFA Cup berth.