Robin van Persie promised that he and his Heerenveen players would “continue to play our own game” and would not be “traumatized” by the record loss. 1:9 defeat at AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch league.

For the former Dutch national team, Arsenal and Manchester United striker, it was only his fourth game as a coach after being appointed head coach of Heerenveen in May.

“It’s tough,” said the 41-year-old, who scored 50 goals in 102 international matches.

“In the course of a career, you encounter many setbacks. This was a very big setback. We learned more lessons from this game than we normally do.”

Sven Mijnans opened the scoring for AZ after just four minutes, but Luuk Brouwers equalized for Heerenveen midway through the first half.

Former Tottenham striker Troy Parrott, 22, soon put the home side back in front with his first goal for AZ since his £6.7million move from north London in the summer.

However, things quickly became uncomfortable for the visitors at the start of the second half as Irish striker Parrott scored three more goals in just eight minutes.

Van Persie then watched as his side conceded four more goals in the final 20 minutes, giving AZ Alkmaar a record win in the Eredivisie that moved them up to second place in the table.

In addition, Heerenveen conceded nine goals for the first time in the league and is now in twelfth place in the table, with four points from Van Persie’s first four games as coach.

“This is part of football. Neither I nor my players are traumatized by it,” said Van Persie.

“Even if things don’t go as planned, such as with three goals in quick succession in the second half, it is important to continue doing the things we agreed on.

“We will continue to play our own game. That’s what I believe in and that’s what we believe in.”