Renée Slegers was back in front of the media for her pre-Chelsea press conference at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Friday.
Our head coach was asked all about Saturday’s trip to Stamford Bridge and more.
Here’s everything she had to say on the following subjects…
on the latest team news:
Emily Fox is back available. Leah [Williamson] and Chloe [Kelly] are progressing really well but won’t be available tomorrow.
on the mood since our League Cup defeat on Wednesday:
It was a frustrating night because we do so many things so well. Playing to the circumstances, the way we built our attacks, getting into the final third. It’s about moments that can make that impact. Of course, the goal that they score and the red card doesn’t make it easier for us. But then we are still creating, so it was frustrating for us. But the way the players came back in the next day, you’re always sitting there and I have my own thoughts and emotions and I try to stay objective, and then the players come in and you don’t know in what way they come in, and I think I’ve said it before also here in press conferences, but the way the players deal with adversity. I think yesterday was the best I’ve seen it so far. So we’re growing as a team in that regards. We have been performing well apart from scoring since coming back in January. So we have to look at the positives and we’ve been really good and constructive and honest and solution-based on the final thing that we need to get right. It’s scoring the goals. So the players have been amazing and we had a good training session today as well.
on Olivia Smith’s red card:
Yeah, tough learnings. It’s a tough learning for her. She’s the type of player who plays on the edge. That’s her super strength and it causes a lot of issues for opposition. I think she takes some knocks in games and that’s not always easy for her. It’s her style of play, so that’s what we spoke about. You need to accept the way you’re playing and take the knocks as well if that’s the way you play. I think of course it is hard for her because opposition goes really tough on her in all possible ways, not only physical. That got to her a little bit and that’s when she took the second yellow. It’s tough and she’s of course not available tomorrow because of that. So it’s a very tough learning for her. What we said is we need to learn and these days that you’re not available, you do everything you possibly can to support the team and to maximise your days when you can’t be with the squad to become a better player.
on trying to bounce back away to Chelsea:
I think, like I just said, the performances have been good. We have belief and the players play with confidence in that sense. I believe in the players and what they’re doing. I think it’s a good moment and we always love to play these big games. The players rise to the occasion and we know the task tomorrow. We want to win. We need to win. We need points. In one way, it creates clarity in what we want to achieve and what we’re going after tomorrow.
on what she thinks of Chelsea:
Of course, a team that has been winning trophies over a long time. With Emma [Hayes] and now with Sonia [Bompastor] as well. A lot of winners in that team. They’re a good team. They can do different things. They can set up in different ways. They have threats that we need to manage in a really good way. It’s two top teams going against each other. The two games I’ve coached against Chelsea, it’s a close game at Stamford Bridge with a late goal, and it’s the 1-1 game. Both games are very close. That’s what we’re expecting tomorrow as well. We’re definitely up for it. Coming off the back of these first three games since January, strong performances in a lot of things on the pitch. The goal is missing, especially against United. We are full of fuel to go into the game tomorrow.
on what she remembers of last season’s game at Stamford Bridge:
Like I just said, they come out very fast. They did that at Emirates as well. They do score early in games. I think there will be a big crowd tomorrow. We have 3,000 fans travelling, which is amazing. We’ll see them, we’ll feel them, we’ll fuel them. It’s that late goal that we conceded. It was a close game, that away game at Stamford Bridge.
on Kyra Cooney-Cross being back with the squad:
She’s just come back. She was in with us when we restarted in January. She only had two sessions and travelled back to Australia to see her family. She needs to build fitness to be ready to play games. She won’t be in the squad tomorrow.
on the recent use of our number 10 position:
We’ve played different players in that position. Of course, it’s been Frida [Maanum], Alessia [Russo], Mariona [Caldentey]. Vic [Pelova] has played in that position. I think it’s a very demanding position for us. Yes, we want to produce goals and points from that position, but there’s also a lot of other things that we ask for from the 10. If you look at goals score and contribution, we have a spread in the team. We score from different positions. Sometimes we are forced into decisions in who plays where. Sometimes we can make decisions. That’s also a luxury position. But like I said, the 10 position is a complex, demanding position for us in the team.
on if Kelly Smith has spoken to Olivia about her own discipline:
I’m not sure if that’s happened yet. I know that Kelly missed the final didn’t she? They have a really good connection, Kelly and Olivia. They tend to work closely together on the pitch with final third details. I’m not sure if they had a conversation, it would be a great conversation, I would want to sit in the room and be a fly on the wall! It’s definitely something that whether it’s a moment or a situation where they could exchange, Kelly does that all the time with our forwards and her experience.
on our attacking options tomorrow:
Exactly like I mentioned earlier, there is clarity even though it’s been tough, especially coming off the back of the United game. It was really tough to take, but we have clarity in where the team is at, what we want to do, what we want to achieve, who is going to do what, so that’s positive. But of course, for specific games like this, if that’s the situation, then it can be positive and it’s good. But across the season and a longer run of games, then of course we want everyone to be fit.
on working on finishing chances:
I think there’s always things you can control and everything that we can control, we try to work on. So how do we want to set things up? How do we want to structure things? But then if we are really clear on how we want to structure things and what the plans are going into games, then there needs to be freedom of decision making for players to follow their instincts as well, because I believe that if you play on intuition, especially in moments where we know there’s a structure, but there is chaotic moments, then you have to make quick decisions and you do that best on intuition. So we try to find that perfect balance of giving structure and control the controllables and then also allowing players to play on their intuition and make sure they believe in themselves and we show that we believe in them, because we all do.
on the importance of being on it from the first whistle:
Yes, so that’s a straightforward one, and I’m sure there will be messaging in their changing room as well, how we want to play the game from start to finish, we keep that for ourselves in the changing room and then there’s a plan for them and we’ll see how that plays out tomorrow.
on if there’s less hostility between ourselves and Chelsea lately:
I don’t think it [hostility] helps, so it’s not within my personality to go and fight down the sideline. I don’t think that’s going to help the game, but of course, we are winners and we want to win this game and there’s a rivalry between the two teams and that’s always going to be there, but no, in my opinion, it’s not going to help the players on the pitch, where it needs to happen.
on if she looks forward to it being a battle of wills:
Yes, I really look forward to it because we want to play against good teams, and it’s very challenging and we want to take challenges, so we look forward to tomorrow, and like I said, we also come off of three games where, yes, we had one win against Villa where we scored two goals, but we want to go and prove ourselves because there’s a lot of things that we do well, and we want to do those things really well tomorrow because we need to because we’re playing against a really, really good team. But there’s also high motivation for us to get things right, and doing that against Chelsea away, that’s the scenario, and we take the scenario and we want to go and win and get points.
on Alyssa Thompson’s impact at Chelsea:
She’s done really well, of course, she has her super strength, she’s very fast, and with that speed, she can still create and be controlled and balanced, so she’s a really, really good player, made a great impact for Chelsea I guess and really shown herself in the WSL, so we’ll have to look out for her tomorrow.
on if she’s hard to mark:
Yes, we have to find the right ways to stop her.
on if we’ve thought about the prospect of facing Chelsea in the Champions League:
No, this is a game in the WSL, and this is the here and now, and we’re going to a game tomorrow, so that’s not on my mind.
on what impact a good result could have on the games coming up:
Always, of course, you want to build momentum, you want to win, and that would be really good for us. I think with everything that the players have done so far, how they’ve come back in and where we are now, even with the adversities, they’ve been so good. So yeah, we go for it and if we are successful tomorrow, we deserve it, because everything they’ve put in so far has been amazing. So we’re going to go for it, of course.
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