De Boer allows Ajax 'to dream'

• Ajax beat APOEL 4-0 to clinch UEFA Europa League slot and Frank de Boer is aiming high
• Goalscorer Lasse Schöne satisfied with Ajax's third-placed finish
• APOEL striker Cillian Sheridan: "I don't think we looked out of place"
• Giorgos Donis thanks his APOEL players and vows to be back next term
• Round of 16 draw takes place in Nyon at 12.00CET on 15 December

Frank de Boer, Ajax coach
I think we played against a team that wanted to play for a win although on the counterattack, but it was still a surprise that they started with five defenders. We had to adapt and I tried to pass that information onto the pitch but it didn't always go well. I wanted to play with three at the back and get an extra player in midfield. 

We knew their midfielders would have to run a lot if we could keep the pace of the game high. You saw that in the second half and we can be very satisfied with the second half. Even in the 90th minute I saw the boys putting pressure on, so that's a big compliment to the team. Overall I'm a satisfied coach with the way the match went.

You know in advance that when you're in a group with Barcelona and PSG you're probably having to aim for Europa League participation, but nevertheless you have to go for it and I think we could've got a few more points.

You look at it match by match. I think that we should go as far as possible in the Europa League. We could face a team that's better than us, like Salzburg were better last year. But we want to go as far as possible. How far that is, I don't know, but you're always allowed to dream.

Lasse Schöne, Ajax winger
In the first half we had difficulty in breaking them down; they had five at the back and sat deep waiting for the counter. We had a couple of half-chances but fortunately we got the penalty just before the break and went in 1-0 ahead. In the second half they were a bit more adventurous and tried to apply pressure, but pretty quickly we scored another three so they realised it wasn't such a good idea and reverted to a defensive formation. We did well in the second half; our play was good, the goals were too and it was a great result.

Of course it was our aim to remain in Europe into the new year, but when you have two massive clubs [Barcelona and Paris] in your group you know it's going to be tough. But I can live with what we achieved, especially after the way we played in the last 45 minutes tonight.

Action from Amsterdam on Wednesday©AFP/Getty Images

Cillian Sheridan, APOEL striker
Everyone's pretty down now – out of Europe, losing 4-0 – and they showed in the end that they're still a level above us, especially when you give a team like that confidence. When they go 2-0 and then 3-0 up, you can see the difference in play.

We put in some good performances [in this campaign] without getting the results we might have deserved. In the last two or three games we might have looked like a tired team – we had the extra two rounds of qualifying, so maybe that also adds up. But tonight we can't really complain.

[Our supporters] are brilliant. I feel a bit bad for them travelling all this way and losing 4-0, but to see them like that, it makes you want to go out for our next league game and try to repay them in some way.

Our main target is now to win the championship and for the club to be back here. Tonight and the last game against Barcelona we lost 4-0 but prior to that I don't think we looked out of place. Definitely it's where we want to get back to.

Giorgos Donis, APOEL coach
Firstly I want to thank the players for our great journey from the summer until now. We have experienced great things. From this experience we will be able to evaluate the good and bad things, and then next season we can start again after winning the league this year.

I think there were crucial moments, especially when the legs of our opponents got tired. We were able to keep them to nil for quite some time but when they scored at the end of the first half, our mental strength disappeared a bit. 

In football it's about setting goals and trying to reach objectives. These were very difficult opponents and we can't compare ourselves to our opponents in this group. 

First of all I want to say that I want to thank my team. As a player I had a lot of these moments, but as a coach, in this tournament, with this club to be here, I'm very thankful to the club. Our next goal is to win the Cypriot league.