LE BRIS ON PLAYER REACTION

Regis Le Bris is happy with what he's seen in training this week and says the players (and coaching staff) are hungry to put things right after last week's 5-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.

DIGEST THE DEFEAT

“Firstly it hurts, a defeat like that, that’s obvious. I think it was a reminder and a warning about how demanding this league is. Even if we started the first 15 minutes reasonably well, we probably turned the ball over too many times and we got exposed on set pieces and counter-attacks. Forest were able to punish us and after 36 minutes the game was gone at 4-0. The Lads tried after that to get back into the game, one goal was disallowed which might have helped the dynamic but it wasn’t the case. So, it was hard to digest and it shows that when you even drop your standards just slightly, you get punished really quickly. At the same time I want to keep perspective because this group has delivered a fantastic journey over the last two years, got promoted last season and reached 46 points as this stage, beat Newcastle twice, and we are in the Premier League with a newly-promoted side. I repeat, it is hard to digest but this is the most competitive environment in football so we have to accept it at the same time, even if it’s hard.”

ANALYSE AND MOVE ON

“We’ve had a long week to do that. The review was important because it was about the collective narrative - we missed something in the game and we got exposed in different areas - but it was also about individuals because we all have a responsibility, the players for sure but also the coaching staff and so on. It’s really demanding and we have to push forward because if that is not the case, it’s hard.”

PRIOR ILLNESS HAVE AN EFFECT?

“It’s part of the process but it can’t be an excuse. We’ve had different problems this year. The AFCON, I think we managed this period properly. We had many injuries after that, we had to turn the screw together as well. Yes, it is possible (that the virus had an impact) but I don’t think that we are looking for excuses. It is what it is and in his context, we didn’t play well enough to be competitive.”

REACTION IN TRAINING

“Many things have been said, but that is private! The energy was good this week and I repeat, we were not in a position looking for excuses. It was really clear and I appreciated the review. For example, that happened and we want to understand the collective narrative about what we have to improve, knowing that you might face different problems against the next opponent. It is still about our culture and about our standards individually as well. When you drop a bit, that is not enough. Conversations went well and they were honest. The players want to bounce back.”

SET PIECE IMPROVEMENTS

“We are working hard but the league is evolving. I don’t know if we’ve dropped our standards or if the opponent has found new solutions to hurt our defence - probably both, I would say. So, we are working hard and it’s not easy because it’s about small numbers. It is not like build-up where you know you will have 25 or 30 situations in the game, with set pieces sometimes only one can damage your defence. We talked about the organisation and different problems, the commitment also to win the duel and win the second phase, or to stay organised if the delivery is with two men rather than one. It is about the culture and hopefully we will fix this problem soon.”