ADO boss Peter reacts to training leak ahead of Groningen match
Peter will lead ADO out for their first Eredivisie home match in five years on Sunday, but the build-up has been overshadowed by anger and a closed-doors decree.
The head coach has shut the public out of training after team information from a session was posted online almost immediately, a leak he believes leaves him with no choice.
“I don't know who it was, but in any case someone, or a few people, posted information online immediately,” he told Dutch outlet Algemeen Dagblad. “That makes keeping training sessions open completely pointless for us.”
The frustration runs deeper than a single incident. For Peter, it cuts right into how he wants to work.
“I have no idea if this happened last year as well, but this time I knew it was posted online straight away,” he said. “We want everyone to be able to come and watch training, but that information has to stay inside the complex. That didn't happen, so we have to close the doors.”
Tactical secrecy now takes priority over the traditional openness ADO had tried to maintain. The message is clear: the leaks stop, or the gates stay shut.
Groningen visit on Sunday in matchday two of the 2026-27 Eredivisie season, and Peter is determined not to let the selection saga dominate what should be a landmark afternoon in The Hague. A sold-out crowd will watch ADO chase their first points of the campaign after a sobering return to the top flight.
They opened with a 2-0 defeat to AZ, undone by second-half goals from Ro-Zangelo Daal and Calvin Stengs. That loss underlined the step up in level; Groningen now arrive with momentum and none of the sentimentality.
The visitors edged FC Utrecht in their curtain-raiser and travel south brimming with confidence. ADO, by contrast, are already playing catch-up and cannot afford a slow start in front of their own fans.
Peter, though, expects the occasion to ignite his side rather than weigh them down.
“I don't expect any surprises and I'm hoping for an open game played at high intensity by both teams,” he said, setting the tone for what he wants this ADO side to become at home: aggressive, front-foot, unapologetically bold.
Team news gives him a mixed hand.
- Jalen Hawkins remains sidelined with a hamstring problem.
- Cameron Peupion is still a long-term absentee after knee surgery, depriving ADO of two attacking options as they search for a first Eredivisie goal of the season.
- Niclas Thiede has returned to full training following an ankle injury and is back in contention, a timely boost with the season only just under way.
- Cagliari loanee Othniel Raterink could make an appearance as he builds match fitness, offering fresh legs and a different look late on if the game tightens.
So the stage is set: a sold-out stadium, a coach bristling at betrayal but clinging to his principles, a promoted club still hunting its first point, and an in-form Groningen side ready to test their resolve.
If ADO want this homecoming to signal a real return rather than a brief visit, Sunday afternoon is where that story has to start.
