PSV extended their lead at the top of the domestic standings by beating Heracles Almelo 2-0 in a performance that pleased Cocu as he looked ahead to the first leg of the Champions League last 16 clash.
"I thought we were defensively a lot stronger. The last line and the midfield worked well together and the players put in a lot of work," he told reporters after Saturday's win. "We were never in any trouble and I thought in the first half we played together a superb match. We controlled the second half too. It was just a pity we did not convert all our chances.
"On Wednesday we'll need to bring the same work and intensity. We gave Heracles too much space in the second half and made the field too big. We can’t do that on Wednesday because Atletico are deadly on the counter attack. We are going to work hard at it."
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PSV are likely to also have a full compliment of players with Andres Guardado and Maxime Lestienne returning from injury.
"We will use Monday and Tuesday to check how they come through training but a player who is 90 percent fit is of no use for a big match like that against Atletico," Cocu added.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
