Vitor Pereira is calling on his players to produce a consistent 90-minute performance against AFC Bournemouth on Saturday and insists he has full confidence in his players to compete with any team.
The Portuguese was not pleased with the first half showing away at Anfield last weekend but understands from the win over Aston Villa and the second half against Liverpool that his side have more than enough quality to get something from their trip to the high-flying Cherries.
On injury news
“We’re looking good. We did a good work and we are ready for the game. [Agbadou] will be out for some games. This is the information that I've got. I don’t know how many games.
“Rodrigo [Gomes] is out and Channy {Hwang] is out too. Jorgen [Strand Larsen] started training with the team and he’s trying to come back with his condition, physically, tactically and technically, but he's ready to help the team.”
On producing consistent performances
“The game before Liverpool in the league was against Aston Villa, and we played a consistent game, in my opinion. Against Liverpool, my expectations were that we'll play a strong match, but the first half was not in the way that I like to play, but the second half was very strong and the team gave me the confidence and the expectations that – in this moment of the season – we can compete with every team in the league.
“To not allow the penalties, we must press them and not allow them to come in our box. If they come in our box a lot of times and they have fast players, we need to control the space in our backs. We must be aware about the situations one against one, but I used to say that if we press higher, the probability to come in our box is less.
“If we play like we played the first half in Liverpool, maybe we'll have another penalty against us, because we cannot stay waiting and waiting. This is not our work. This is not the way that I like to my team playing. We need to understand the moments to press, the moments to wait, but not every time to be running back. I don't want my team to start running back every time, I want a proactive team, I want a team that tries to force our game.”
On the threat of Bournemouth
“I like to compete during the game, then after the game it’s finished and my focus is on the Bournemouth game, where we will face a strong opponent, a very strong opponent, but with confidence in my team.
“They have a good team, very good players, a very good coach, they are strong and they are confident. But, to be honest, I'm looking for my team. If it’s Liverpool or if it’s another club, I respect everybody, but if you want to increase your level, you must look for yourselves.
“We must look for ourselves to understand where we must put our energy to improve and, in this moment, I want to see my team playing with confidence with our qualities. We need to look inside of us, to go there to compete, to force our game, to try to play our game from the first minute against a different team with a different profile, but with the tools that we work on every day, day after day.”
On Munetsi’s versatility
“I'm not asking him to play as a striker. We must look for the game, but I'm not asking him to play as a striker. He is a midfielder, in my opinion he is an eight, box to box, physical, physically strong, runs a lot – even in the training, so we must block him sometimes, and tell him to calm.
“But he is a player that bring us different things than the other midfielders. He is a player who is ready to help us and he will go in the list for the game.
“We must look for the good profiles, not only about tactically and technically, but about the personality too. They’ve come to help and they’ve come with this spirit, and this has helped the adaptation.”
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On Semedo’s captaincy
“Nelson is a very important player inside the pitch and outside the pitch, because he's someone that wants to help everybody, he wants everybody to commit with the club, with our targets and this is very important for us.
“I didn’t [go paintballing with the squad] because I’ve already had an experience with paintballing that I don't want to have again!”
On giving his players confidence
“You have confidence if you feel that you are in control. When I work during the week on some aspect that we are not doing well, this brings me confidence because I will work on it. This is the control and this is the confidence that I can give to them.
“As a coach, you can transmit not only the tactical things, but you can transmit the personality too, and I want to see courage because in football, you cannot go to a game with a fear of anything. I don't want them to be afraid of anything, I just want to see my team playing, competing with the other teams.
“The feeling is something that you get during the training. You can feel the mood of the team. I feel the team is confident. Not only as a team, but each player. They feel that we can play our game and this is a game that can create a lot of problems for the other teams. We create chances to score and be consistent when we are defending.
“Defending and attacking together, and the tactical work, believing in what we propose to them. If they believe in our work, if I believe in in my players, if the players have confidence in the teammates, and when we are facing the opponents, we look for the game, thinking the same things – in this moment, we know what we should do and we do it together.
“If we do it together, we are a team. If we start to think different things in the same moment, we are not a team.”
