LE BRIS PRE MAGS

Regis Le Bris understands the importance of the derby, having won the reverse fixture earlier in the season, and says the players are excited for the challenge this weekend.

TOUGH PERIOD

“We are now in a difficult cycle, it is not unusual in this league especially for a newly-promoted side. We had the AFCON and the festive period, and I think the delay afterwards is more or less happening now. We have six, seven or eight injuries, five probably starters, so it influences the level and the confidence of the squad. It might affect results a bit because this league is so competitive that when the level drops just a little bit, the games have such tight margins that you can get punished and be a bit more vulnerable during those periods. We have to manage it because it’s the normal journey of a newly-promoted side in the league.”

40 POINTS, JOB DONE?

“I don’t think so at all. If you felt the mood in the dressing room after Brighton, you would see that there is no complacency. They want to win and we are not happy when we lose. I repeat, this league is relentless and when your level drops just a bit, you become more vulnerable. The game against Brighton is a good example, we played a good team without injuries and finally it was a key moment on set pieces that decided the game. Maybe one, two, three, four, five, six weeks ago with a more well-rounded team we might have won at home, but now that is not the case. But it doesn’t mean that the team doesn’t want to win. That’s not the case at all.”

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DERBY

“The players are looking forward to it really, because we want to play these games with big expectations. It’s a big opportunity and a big event, for sure. They are excited, they want to do it together.”

DERBY IS CRUCIAL

“We know that in this region, the derby means a lot. We like it and we embrace that challenge. That was the case for the game at home I think, with a young squad with no experience in the Premier League other than Bertrand and Granit, they did well. They played the game expected with proactiveness, togetherness and intensity. It was tight but we won that game, so we want to do it again in a different context. It will be away from home, I don’t know if that is more difficult or not but we will see. We want to give 100%.”

WHO WILL DO THE TEAM TALK?

“Probably Granit! He is really experienced and he knows this context. He helps in these kinds of situations.”

PLAY THE GAME, NOT THE OCCASION

“About the involvement, the willingness to win, the desire, I think the symbol is interesting. But there’s always a risk of blocking the players if you push too much. You want to win, you want big desire and big togetherness, but it is emotion and control. If it is too much emotion then you can’t use your mind, if something goes wrong which is often the case in football. You can have a plan but the unpredictability is so high that you have to manage different events. If your brain is overloaded then it might be difficult. For me, we want to be the underdog and we want to be intense, but with control. We’ll see how it goes.”

BLOCK OUT THE MEDIA NOISE

“As usual I would say, like the play-offs last season and the final at Wembley, the most important thing is to stay connected with the game. We have our foundations, our game model and our plan. First you manage the expected, and then you have to manage the unexpected. You need a margin in your brain to be ready and aware of different situations. If you overload your brain with too many emotions, you can’t have this part.”

ENJOY THE PRESSURE

“Absolutely. It drives everything because you want to improve every single detail to help the players, but you don’t want to overload them so it’s a really interesting period. Yeah, I think we enjoy these kinds of moments.”

END TO END AND OPEN

“It could be. I think we’ll have periods like that. I think it’s interesting to have the intention to manage the momentum when it is possible. We have players to do that, they are connected with the dynamic of the game, they understand when it is time to go forward and accelerate or slow it down. Going away from home in this event, I think it’s important to have this ability. We’ll try to work like that.”