Motherwell Manager Alfred Johansson Prepares for Crucial Conference League Play-off Against Freiburg
Motherwell manager Alfred Johansson addressed the media ahead of Thursday’s Conference League play-off second leg against Freiburg in Germany, where the visitors find themselves trailing 3-1. He shared several insights on his team’s preparation and mindset.
Johansson expressed that heading into this match, the goal is to “do our best to perform with our style of play at top of mind” and “to do as good as we can,” despite the deficit from the first leg at Fir Park. He reiterated the importance of sticking to their game plan, stating that when they do, “they’re at their best.”
Reflecting on the first leg, Johansson noted he has “learned things” and plans to “improve some bits and pieces” for the upcoming match. He acknowledged that while Motherwell can draw inspiration from the stories of other teams, such as Celtic’s Champions League play-off defeat, the focus must remain on what Motherwell needs to accomplish.
Johansson highlighted the players’ confidence, saying, “we have a lot of quality and we believe that we have the capacity to do well.” He believes that their weekend off was “much needed” and is optimistic about its potential benefits, despite Freiburg’s strong victory in their cup match over the weekend.
In terms of team news, Johansson confirmed that Regan Charles-Cook, Stephen O’Donnell, Tom Sparrow, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, and Dylan Williams have made the trip and are contenders to play, although he emphasized the necessity of “managing” their fitness.
Motherwell manager Alfred Johansson has been speaking to the media before Thursday’s Conference League play-off second leg with Freiburg in Germany, with the hosts leading 3-1. Here are some of his key points.
-
On the mindset going into this game given Motherwell trail by two goals from the first leg at Fir Park, Johansson says they will try to “do our best to perform with our style of play at top of mind” and “to do as good as we can”.
-
The manager’s message this week has been that “we’re going to try to do our thing” adding when they do that “they’re at their best”.
-
Johansson admits he’s “learned things” from the first leg and will try “to improve some bits and pieces”.
-
Motherwell can use what happened to Celtic in their Champions League play-off defeat and a “million” similar stories as inspiration, but thinks “we’re better off focusing on what we have to do”.
-
The players “believe that we have a lot of quality and we believe that we have the capacity to do well”.
-
Johansson believes Motherwell’s weekend off could be beneficial and it was “much needed” while he is not overly worried by Freiburg’s convincing win in their weekend cup match.
-
Team news: Regan Charles-Cook, Stephen O’Donnell, Tom Sparrow, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Dylan Williams have travelled and are in contention, though the manager says they all have to be “managed”.
[/gpt3]