Renée Slegers held a press conference at Sobha Realty Training ahead of our Subway Women's League Cup quarter-final against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Our head coach fielded questions on tomorrow's opposition, our squad's versatility and how to manage a congested fixture schedule.
Here is everything she had to say:
on our last meeting with Brighton…
They have a very strong identity. I think they’re very persistent with their style of play and when they do it well they do it really well, so it’s going to put a challenge on us. They’ll press us high and we’ll try to play out of that pressure, but also they invest a lot of numbers and have a particular set-up in the way they build and we’ll have to soak up that pressure so it’s going to be an interesting challenge. They’ve changed a little bit, not in possession in the way they’ve been playing, but we’ve seen them change what they do out of possession, so in that sense, it’s going to be a little bit different from the other game [against them].
on providing opportunities for the full squad during a busy fixture schedule…
We have a fantastic squad and I think the club wanted this squad to be able to compete in so many competitions. The games are coming really tight at the moment and, for every game, we’re just looking at who is the strongest team for us to play, who is the fittest, freshest, in the best form and what partnerships do we need on the pitch? We will do that for every game and it’s the same for the game tomorrow as well.
on seeking advice in taking the head coach role…
Well, I have close people. Of course, I have some close people within the football world as well who have been in similar roles. It’s been good to discuss some ideas with those people so I definitely feel supported and challenged and I feel like I can discuss my thoughts and ideas with other people.
on team news updates…
Victoria [Pelova] and Amanda [Ilestedt] are still in a return-to-play phase. They’re joining up with the team which is great. Stina [Blackstenius] was reported ill on matchday. She’s fine so she was back training with us today. Lina [Hurtig] wasn’t in the squad last Sunday. She’s progressing really well, she’s trained in parts with the team, so we’ll see how she reacts after today but she was on the pitch as well.
on our strength in the centre-back position…
We have a great set-up in our centre-back position, we have a lot of players with high quality so we’re very fortunate with all those players. At the moment, Katie Reid has progressed really well, she was with Watford last season and developed a lot when she was on loan. She came back and I’m very impressed with her as a player, but also as a person. You need to get a lot of things right to become an Arsenal player – you need to be physically top; you need to be technically top, you need to have a really good understanding of the game and have good decision making plus your mentality is very important as well. Katie Reid, looking at her age, is 18 and she’s on a very high level, of course she’s young and will still make mistakes like everybody else which we think is fine and we accept that. She’s a great player; she’s developing very well.
on whether Katie Reid will go on loan this season…
I can’t answer that question at the moment. She’s with us.
on our success in last year’s League Cup…
I was with the team last year, I think we played a really good game and what I take from it mostly was the way we managed the game over 20 minutes; we start the game and finish the game, a lot of players involved but mostly how persistent we were, how we overcame difficult moments in the game. So, I think it was certainly a great performance by the team, very happy with that and very happy that we’re still competing in all four competitions at the moment.
on whether we approach matches differently depending on the competition…
Exactly that, we want to compete in all four competitions. We are very aware of what game we are playing, and what competition we’re in, of course, but every game is the most important game at the moment. So, no we don’t think about anything else that isn’t that game at the moment. It’s all about Brighton and we look forward to that.
on whether there are conversations internally about the title race…
No, we don’t talk about it at the moment. My eyes and my mind are on Brighton tomorrow.
on versatility in our squad…
That’s one of the reasons why it's so fun to work with this squad, because there's so many different qualities and also within one player. So, players can play different roles for us and like you say, you can make in-game changes, but also from game to game, looking at what qualities do we need on the pitch. I'm very fortunate to get the chance to work with these players because it becomes very fun as a coach.
on finding solutions in-game with versatile players like Katie McCabe and Mariona Caldentey…
It’s very enjoyable as a coach, but mostly it's about us finding ways to win games. And I think the way the game is developing, especially in WSL, you have really strong opposition, and an opposition makes a move, then they're fully aware of it or not, but they make a move and they try to solve situations, and then new opportunities appear, and that's what we need to be really sharp at as staff, but also as players that we can make changes in-game depending on what opens up for us. And then you can make changes by bringing new players on with a new role on the pitch. But we have a lot of very intelligent players in our team, so with the example of Katie McCabe, her role changed for the second half, and she only needs a short message, a little bit of information, and she knows exactly how to play that role. So, we are very lucky to have these players in this club.
on how likely it is that we’ll add to our squad in this window…
Like I've been saying, I think we have a great squad. The squad is built to be able to compete in many competitions, so we're very happy with the players that we have. We’re always looking to improve the squad. I think you need to do that, but we're very happy with who we have at the moment so I have nothing to share.
on how to prioritise when we’re still in all four competitions…
Well, it's the game that's coming up is the most important game. So we try to put the best possible team on the pitch for every game, and that's what we're going to do tomorrow against Brighton. And obviously, you always have a place where the team comes from, which impacts what we're going to do tomorrow. But I'm not looking ahead to what comes after that. The past impacts a little bit and it will always be like that, but the future doesn't impact what we want to do.
on whether anything has changed for Renée since taking the full-time job…
It’s been good. Not much has changed. I tried not to change. The only thing, obviously, is the fact that you work a little bit more long-term. So there are processes that we've started in the background. But I want to be in the moment. I want to be with the players, with the staff, because I think that's where we make the most impact. So I’ll stay exactly the same.
on Brighton’s home form…
You'll have to ask them but they probably feel the benefit of being at home. They've been doing well, so that's impressive, of course. But we don't think so much about that. That's not something that's within our control. We are going to play a game against Brighton tomorrow and try to beat Brighton, wherever that will be.
on whether our status as defending champions adds pressure…
No, I think the club's obviously very proud that we won that Cup twice now in the last two years. But that's all in the past, and we have to try and do it again. Like I said, we focus on the four competitions that we're active in, and that's one of them.
on Steph Catley’s adaptability as she’s moved to centre-back…
Yeah, it links back to the questions before. I think we have a lot of players in the squad who can play different roles for us. Steph is one of those. She's been brilliant in her new role. She does a lot of things that you might not see, but that have helped the team really well in small details: how she positions herself and how she passes the ball. So she's a very good player, but we have a lot of very good centre-backs in our team and certain partnerships are very strong. So we're just very lucky to have all these players in the team, and versatility within the squad.
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