Blind thinking about future after accepting blame for Bulgaria blow

Netherlands head coach Danny Blind conceded he must consider his position after overseeing a damaging 2-0 defeat to Bulgaria in World Cup qualifying.

With injuries to regular defensive choices Virgil van Dijk, Jeffrey Bruma and Stefan de Vrij, Blind selected 17-year-old Ajax prospect Matthijs de Ligt for his debut at centre-back alongside Bruno Martins Indi.

It proved a baptism of fire for De Ligt, who was at fault for Spas Delev's early opener before his weak header led to the Bulgaria striker's second.

Blind replaced De Ligt at half-time, but by then the game was already beyond Oranje, who drop to fourth in Group A and are in real danger of missing out on a second successive major international tournament following their failure to reach Euro 2016.

With Blind coming increasingly under fire, the coach admitted responsibility for the latest chapter in Netherlands' sorry recent history.

"We had a very poor performance, that is obvious," he told NOS. "I do not know why we started so poorly.

"We hardly created any chances. I blame myself. In hindsight it was not good for De Ligt to start, but that's hindsight. He is a great defender. This was my responsibility.

"Whether I will still lead the team? I need to think about it. I do not throw the towel in here. I'm incredibly disappointed, especially since I had a good feeling about this match.

"It makes sense that I put myself in front of the mirror."