Can I ask you about Senne Lammens, who’s made a tremendous impact on joining the football club? Have you been surprised by the impact he’s made in just two games?
“I think a little bit, because it’s hard in the moment of our club, all the speculation around the goalkeepers to have, he’s not a young kid, but is still young. He coped really well with the pressure. He’s really composed, he’s defending really well. The importance of playing [with] both feet to kick the ball well is so important nowadays, especially when you have to play, like against Liverpool, a more direct style. So, I’m a little bit surprised, but I was expecting a talented guy. But yes, a little bit surprised.”
You talk about Bruno [Fernandes] wanting to help people, to keep up the standards. Do you have other players on your team who are vocal? Do you think your team is loud enough when it comes to difficult situations?
“Yeah, I think Harry Maguire. Sometimes players have a different style. [Diogo] Dalot, he tries to do that. Luke Shaw is completely the opposite. He can show in some moments the way he plays when he’s so focused, he can help the team in a different way. I can look at Harry. I think Nous [Mazraoui] has a good impact. You don’t see it, but you can feel it. Licha [Martinez] is really important on that; he’s really loud. So, sometimes, it depends on the moment, and if we win more games, you will feel the confidence of everybody to start to have that role in the team.”
How frustrating will it be tomorrow if the attitude is not as it should be?
“Let’s wait for the game. I think if you look at our wins, especially this year, it has to do a lot with the attitude. And sometimes these attitudes, I’m not saying that my players don’t want to win or to run. Sometimes, it is getting harder, but we need to force ourselves to do the basics. If we do that, we are near to winning more football games. But again, I think if you look at Brighton and you see the way they play, every team that presses a little bit higher, struggles with them, and they won those games. So, all these things we need to be prepared for that, not just against the top teams, like you call it – Chelsea, Liverpool – but against these opponents that are really good, and we need to be really focused and really smart to play this kind of game.”
