Renee Slegers addressed the media at Sobha Realty Training Centre ahead of our Women's Super League fixture against West Ham.
Our interim coach was asked about team morale, player availability and her own time spent at Arsenal academy as a youngster.
Here is everything she had to say:
on taking stock of the past week…
Not really yet, to be honest. I think I said it last time. I’m still just very focused on the task. There's a lot of things we need to get done. We need to be there for the players now in this time and we need to work hard as a staff. So to be honest, my focus has just been on the task. And the next one is tomorrow's training, and then the day after, it will be West Ham.
on whether Renee will be interim coach past West Ham…
Again, I know that I'm appointed as interim coach, so that's where my focus is now. I want to help the team at this moment and about the future, I have no idea. I like to be in the moment anyway, in life, in general, and that's what's needed at the moment. That's something we talk about with the players as well. Can we be as much as possible in the here and now? Because this is what we can impact for them. Obviously, the future is also uncertain but can we be in the here and now? That's going to help us the most.
on the prestige of the head coach job…
It's a beautiful club and a big club, and it's a great squad. We have all the facilities, all the resources, so it's obviously a very good job to have. I'm happy to be part of this at this moment in time and again, I’m doing everything I can do to help the team forward.
on whether she would want to apply for the full-time role…
That's not on my mind at all.
on whether she’s noticed a mentality shift in the players…
I think in general, big changes always impact people. And I think the big change that happened last week, it impacted the players. And again, I think I said it before, but they went into a self-reflection moment, and I think that's what they showed on the pitch last Wednesday. So yeah, in general, big changes will make an impact, and people want to try and be better.
on last time around at West Ham…
So I know the tough game we had away last season there, absolutely. We spoke about some details from the Valerenga game and what we need to bring to West Ham on Sunday. So that's definitely in our heads. We’re looking at the conditions we're going to play in: the type of pitch and the type of opposition, and then we need to get the tactical plan together as well. We played against them in the preseason, in a training game as well.
on similarities between West Ham and Valerenga in terms of long goal kicks and balls in behind…
Those are key points. Those are two of a few points that we want to get right on Sunday.
on Caitlin Foord’s form…
I think she’s started the season well really well for us, she’s one of the players in really good form. Early on in the season, I think she’s scored some important goals in important games, and I think that’s obviously impacted how she looks at herself, how others look at her, and always when players are in good form. We need to build on that momentum with Caitlin obviously but there are a lot of other players that performed really well on Wednesday which is very good to see that we have more and more players in good individual form.
on team news…
Lotte was on the pitch today, but we’ll have to see how she reacts so it’s still pending for Sunday. Otherwise, it’s the same squad.
on the type of head coach Renee believes she is…
I haven’t had time to reflect on myself that much in these couple of days, but I want to believe I want the best for every individual and their strengths, and have the team play really good football. I don’t think, at the moment, that’s where I want to deep-dive, it’s just West Ham and get the three points on Sunday.
on the pressure on our squad ahead of West Ham…
I don’t think it will be any different as it’s being said by itself there’s always pressure for us to perform so it won’t be any different on Sunday.
on Alessia Russo’s confidence levels…
I think Alessia’s very good at understanding herself, it’s the most important thing getting yourself into good positions and then the goal will come, and she scored last Wednesday. That’s the main focus to keep on getting our forwards into good positions to get in the back of the net. Emily Fox scored as well on Wednesday, and she’s a right-back who made her way into the box, any player can do it for us. The forward mindset is obviously important for forwards.
on the quality of our academy players coming through…
I’ve only been here for a year, but I’ve been very impressed with the quality of the Academy players. Last pre-season, we had players training with us and then this pre-season again, I said you could see a big difference. The quality this year with the Academy players training with us is so good, it’s very high. I think we have a lot of players playing at the World Cup right now, we have six in the starting line-up. That looks really good, a bright future for us.
on whether Emirates Stadium creates additional pressure…
I don’t think so, if I look at the players when they get to play at Emirates Stadium and we’re in the dressing room and they come out onto the pitch, I think they enjoy it and think it’s an honour. I think it gives them a lot of energy so I wouldn’t say so [that it creates pressure], there have been a couple of results, but I wouldn’t say it’s a trend for us, no.
on whether Renee has aspirations for head coach positions…
Obviously, I’ve been working as a head coach before. I enjoyed that, but I think there’s so much to football that I provided now to this team has been in individual development which I think is very interesting as well. I just love working with people and I think football is a beautiful game, so any role I can play and be part of a team I’m happy with. The direction of the future, I’m not sure.
on her time at Arsenal academy…
I played at the Euros with the U19s team from the Netherlands, and I think Emma Hayes was Head of Academy back then. Kelly Smith was assisting her, and they asked me to come over to England. I was just done with school in the Netherlands, and I thought it was a good opportunity. I went together with another Dutch girl, and we lived at Oakland's College. We trained every day. Kelly Smith, as a coach, got a couple of opportunities with the first team, and I remember looking up to those players so much. Getting to train with Rachel Yankey, Kelly Smith, Alex Scott, Jayne Ludlow, many, many more. It was a great experience. And now I'm here again, it's strange how life takes its turns.
on the difference between assistant coach to head coach…
I think in my role, the workload hasn't changed. We were all working very hard in our roles in the staff. It's just different. It's more of creating a holistic picture instead of going deep into individual details and a little bit more thinking maybe, and a little bit less executing. So that's, I guess, what's changed a little bit these last couple of days.
on the performance she wants to see against West Ham…
I think looking back at the game last Wednesday, the determination, the way they took care of the ball and protecting in duels, counter pressure. I think a lot of things were on a very, very high level. And I know the players themselves spoke about accountability. And I think it's easy to bring it for short moments, but it's important for us to bring it over a long time, and then the next step is going to be Sunday.
on a high-scoring game in midweek to build confidence…
No, it's important. And then we'll just see how, how we're going to create space and moments to score the goals. Will it be against a low block, or will it be other opportunities in the game as well, where it's a little bit more open? So, that's what we're looking at, how we’re going to make use of the space in the game on Sunday.
on Lina Hurtig’s availability…
Yeah, she's doing well. She trained today. She's okay. She should be available on Sunday.
on the morale boost for the team after Lina’s return…
Yeah, it was. And that's where you see how much the other players care, how much the staff cares. And then seeing Lina with her daughter, with the fans, it was just beautiful to see. So I think, very much needed for Lina, and very much needed for the togetherness for everyone. So I think it was a beautiful moment.
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