The Dutch interim boss admits she hasn’t had much time to reflect since she’s stepped up to replace Jonas Eidevall (after his resignation earlier this week) however, she remains focused solely on the task in hand and that is facing West Ham.
(Image Credit: Arsenal FC)
“I like to be in the moment, that’s what’s needed. Being in the here and now and we talk about that with the players as that’s what we can impact. I want to believe I want the best for every individual, see their biggest strengths and have the team play really good football. I don’t think at the moment I want to deep dive, at the moment it’s just West Ham and get the three points on Sunday.“
Last season, the loss away to the Hammers was considered a ‘game that got away’ from the north London team and Slegers fully acknowledged this. She hopes that her team’s preparation will allow them to take the three points this time around, “I know the tough game we had away there last season and we spoke about some things from the Vålerenga game and some things we need to bring to West Ham on Sunday.“
Tactically, Slegers was impressed with her team’s performance and how they stepped up on Wednesday evening and spoke about how she wants some of those attributes to carry over into Sunday’s game.
“I think looking back at last Wednesday, determination and the way they took care of the ball and protecting in duels, counter pressure, a lot of things were very high level and I know players themselves spoke about accountability. I think it’s important to bring it over a long time and the next step is going to be Sunday.
It’ll be how we create space and moments to score the goals. Will it be against a low block? Or will there be other opportunities in the game where it’s a bit more open? That’s what we’re looking at how we’re going to make use of the space on Sunday.”
After a turbulent week behind the scenes and lots of questions still circling about the who the club may appoint as their new manager, Renée was adamant that although “it’s a beautiful club, we’ve got all of the facilities and resources and I’m happy to be a part of this at this moment in time and helping the team.”
She made it very clear that applying for the job is “not on my mind at all.”
“I’ve been working as a head coach before and I enjoyed that. The role I’ve played now in this team is more towards individual development which is really interesting as well. I enjoy working with people and I think football is a beautiful game, so any role I can play and be a part of the team I’m happy with. The direction of the future, I’m not sure.“
In the press conference, I also got the chance to ask Renée about Lina Hurtig and if her return was the morale boost the players needed right now, “that’s where you see how much the other players care, how much the staff care and see Lina with her daughter and with the fans, it was just beautiful to see. So I think it was very much needed for Lina and very much needed for the togetherness of everyone, so I think it was a beautiful moment.“
(Image Credit: Arsenal FC)
The head coach further commented on how proud she was of the players’ mentality during this time, “change always impact people, I think the big change that happened last week it impacted the players, I’ve said it before but they went into a self-reflection moment and that’s what they showed on the pitch on Wednesday. Big changes make an impact and people want to try and be better.“
Slegers was also full of praise for her players, including Arsenal’s Player of the Month – Caitlin Foord and what impact a player of her quality has on the team.
“She started the season really well for us. She’s one of the players in really good form, she scored important goals in important games and that has impacted how she looks at herself and how others look at her.”
(Image Credit: Arsenal FC)
“When players are in good form we need to build on that momentum and [not only] with Caitlin and lots of other players who performed well last Wednesday which is really good to see and we’re getting more and more players who are in good individual form.”
On whether there’s pressure for Alessia Russo to score, Slegers responded, “Alessia is very good at understanding herself and getting into good positions, the goal will come and she scored last Wednesday. We need to keep focusing on getting our forwards in good positions to be able to get it into the back of the net. Emily Fox also scored who is a right-back, so any player can do it for us.”
(Image Credit: Arsenal FC)
On team news for Sunday, Slegers confirmed that “Lina is doing well, she trained today, she’s okay and she should be available for us on Sunday.” She further commented on the recent absence of Lotte Wubben-Moy, confirming the defender was on the pitch today but she’s still “pending” for Sunday.
Finally, when asked if she thinks there’ll be any added pressure now that a lot of eyes are watching the club, the head coach dismissed this quite confidently, “I don’t think it will be any different. I think there’s always pressure on us to perform so it won’t be any different on Sunday.”
Arsenal Women travel to the Chigwell Construction Stadium on Sunday to take on West Ham with a 3pm kick off.
Leave a Reply