RLB POST CP

Régis Le Bris met the press after the 1-0 defeat to Sporting Lisbon at Estadio Algarve on Monday night.

OVERALL

“This game was interesting at this moment of pre-season because we faced a mature, experienced team with strong references together. They are ready to play, they have the Super Cup in a week so they are ready for competition. We faced this structure with good players inside and threats in behind. I think for the goal we conceded, it's important to make this mistake now so that we can fix the problem. We had this problem last season with the switch between man-for-man and zonal defence, so the mistake is necessary to fix this problem. I think in possession, our references were positive, we created many chances. It means that we have the ability to build up play, to be strong and progress through the pitch and now the last question will be the clinical ability. We know this is going to be very important in the Premier League.”

JENSON SEELT

“I'm very happy to have Jenson Seelt for this whole pre-season because he missed almost all of last season with a big injury. Now he is building good foundations. His physical attributes are interesting and he's a good footballer, really good. We'll see with him. We will see where we are at the end of pre season and we will decide what is the best pathway for him.”

TEAM SELECTION

“We knew when we planned these first weeks that we would start with 45,45. We knew this would give everyone this opportunity. Now we will start progressively to reduce the game time for some players so that we can prepare the core of the group for the season. There may be another opportunity for some of these players but progressively, the direction will become clear.”

TRANSFER PROGRESS

“Not really! The market is always tough. A lot of work, a lot of discussions, a lot of conversations behind the scenes. I think our project is really attractive but it is not the only one.”

NEW KEEPER?

“Yeah, probably. We want to reinforce the squad with the best players we can, who fit the identity of the club and mentality of the team. It's not easy to do this, it's the same for goalkeeper, striker, pivot... I don't know. Every position is possible. We'll see later whether it is possible [to recruit a player in this position].”

MUNDLE BACKUP

“It's fair to say we will have a recruitment to make in this position. Simon has a good background in the Premier League but if he's alone in this position, we'll struggle. Chemsdine is young and has many games but is very young for the Premier League. So we'll need to reinforce this part of the squad. We'll see, because it's not an easy position.”

NEW PLAYERS FITTING IN

“I'm really pleased to be fair, I didn't expect this level of connection at this stage of the season. It's really positive. When we analyse a player, live or on video, it's not easy to know exactly how they'll connect with our players and our principles. And so far, I'm really pleased with their output.”

ENZO

“Yeah. He's playing as a midfielder now, his best position, so for sure we are going to see the best version of Enzo now.

INJURIES

"Wilson took a bit of a kick to his knee in the last game, he trained yesterday but it will a little bit stiff this morning. So we just decided to avoid any risk with this game. I'm not worried at the moment. Then with Niall, he has had eight consecutive days of training and I think the last one was too much. Again, we just decided against a risky situation for him. For Anthony and Riggy, I think next week they should be available for us if everything progresses as we hope. Reinildo has started a little bit later, so he will need I think maybe one week or ten days to get into his best shape. The foundations need to be laid and then he will start the full training sessions and come into the games."