RLB PRE AFCB

Regis Le Bris spoke to the press before heading to Bournemouth as we attempt to avoid four losses in a row against a team with a formidable home record...

B’MOUTH HOME CROWD

“It will be intense, the atmosphere will be strong and the way they play is impressive from that point of view. They have many strengths but they also have weaknesses. About those points, it is about how we will manage their strengths on one side but also how we can impose our style of play, with the ability to score or to defend our goal.”

MINDSET STAYS THE SAME

“We want to stay consistent and we believe that what we are doing is the right way (of doing things). Sometimes you have to recover a bit more, because they need to rest and have good energy for the game. But this week for example, we went through full analysis with the players just to make sure we are aligned with what we are doing well, trying to reinforce those points, and then we have problems too. For example set pieces, it was obvious against Fulham, and if we do this better then we will have one more chance to be efficient in this phase for the next game. The process is the same but you just have to adjust little details according to the week.”

REVERSE FIXTURE

“I expect energy from the start, and probably til the end. They probably have better references at home, which is always the case with stronger confidence, so it will be a tough challenge once again. But we are excited because when it is tough and the opponent is strong, you want to involve all your resources individually and collectively. It is a big challenge and we like those challenges. If it is not going well then we will go for the next one, because we need to reset and this is part of the life in this league.”

MIDDAY KICKOFFS

“It is a bit different, we need to change the schedule a bit, but I am not concerned to be fair. As a professional player you need to be ready for anything. It is probably more connected to our usual training sessions, so it is not a big problem for me.”

ANDONI IRAOLA

“He is doing really well and so is the club. They have a clear identity from a recruitment perspective and from a game model perspective, they are really well-connected. When you see a Bournemouth game, you can identify really quickly who they are which for me is really positive. They stay consistent because they had a bad run earlier in the season but they kept going, waiting for the effect of that consistency. If you work hard then even if you don’t get early results, you know the momentum will shift.”