Savvy Twente bid to cage the Canaries

Midfielder Wout Brama believes European football has increased FC Twente's "belief in ourselves", while coach Steve McClaren is predicting "a top game, a big game" against Fenerbahçe SK as the Dutch and Turkish league leaders meet on Thursday with both hopeful of sealing a place in the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa League.

Killer instinct
Brama made his international debut for the Netherlands in a 0-0 draw against Paraguay on 18 November, and last Saturday scored his first goal in 120 Eredivisie appearances as Twente won 3-1 at Willem II to remain at the top of the Dutch league. For the 23-year-old, it is no coincidence that he and his team have been performing so well after earning their spurs in Europe. "Our belief in ourselves has increased," he said. "That is down to experience. We have really learned a lot in our two seasons in Europe. You learn to play to your limits and to go on to the pitch with confidence. In those games you learn something extra. Any mistake you make is punished. Now we play like that in top domestic matches. That is what we learned from playing in Europe."

Alex stifled
Such ruthlessness saw Twente beat Fenerbahçe 2-1 in Istanbul on Matchday 1, with Brama given plenty of credit for neutralising the threat posed by Alex. "He is a great player who has achieved a lot, and is a key player at Fenerbahçe," Brama said. "In the last game I was praised as the one who took care of Alex, but I just did my job. One day one player is a hero, the next it's another." If it is Brama's turn to be a hero again, and Twente do the double over the Yellow Canaries, the Dutch side will be sure of a last 32 place. "We would prefer not to have it go down to the last group match, so we want to win it," said Brama. "They also might want to attack, which could give us more space. We want to win, they want to win, so I think it will be a great European match."

'Right attitude'
Twente coach McClaren expects nothing less. "We must not waste this opportunity, fight to win this game and avoid any pressure for our final match against Steaua," the Englishman said. "Fenerbahçe are a top European team. They also get good results on their travels." Fenerbahçe lead the section by two points from Twente having won all three of their games since that opening day defeat to their Dutch rivals. They have not been able to maintain such high standards on the domestic front, however, and coach Christoph Daum has called on his side to put successive Süper Lig defeats behind them by confirming their place in the knockout phase. "We have not been at our best lately and we now have to show the right attitude," he said. "The attitude before a match often is more important than the lineup."