We've only played 2 away games in the league plus we lost 1-0 at Burton, we may score on Saturday for a change
Good stuff as always from Ronald. He's right to dismiss the CL talk because things can change so quickly in football. Pretty sure Fraser Robertson (the guy from Sky who talks with an annoyingly slow scottish accent) said we were heading down before the season started as Ronald alluded to. Funny how things change eh.
Ronald Koeman's pre-QPR press conference - It isn't realistic for Southampton to qualify for the Champions League this season - I remember one of the last questions you asked about us before the season, and that was totally different - But, that's football... - The season is 38 games long - It's a long and tough season - Okay, we have had a very good start with all the changes that we've made - Expectations are higher than before the first game - But it will be more difficult, we have to realise that and keep going with what we've done so far - We planned to have Wednesday off, and José Fonte said to me 'Boss, we'd like to come to train tomorrow' - I said 'But you have a day off, I planned a lot of things with my wife!' - We changed it and we had a recovery session - I have never had that, a squad saying 'no day off' - That means a lot to me, and says a lot about the ambition of our players - We said to them, if you beat QPR, you can have a day off next week - We played the last three games with a different back four - But every player has had a good performance - QPR is not an easy one - We have to prepare ourselves in the best way - If we keep our way of playing and what we like to do, then maybe but we don't talk about Europe now - We try to control that (players getting overly ambitious and leaving) - But you can't control everything - Belief is high at the moment and we are all happy - We know, it's football, changes can come fast - Our feeling is strong and we want to show that game-by-game - Matthew is a young player and I am impressed by how he has played - I am always a fan of putting young players in those type of games - Because, they are the most difficult games - Matthew, in my opinion, can be a fantastic player - He has to continue with us - He has to improve with us - He has to get experience with us - But we have to keep these young players - If he has any issue with his contract, then tomorrow I will talk to him - Contracts are up to Les Reed, but I want to keep players like Matthew - From the moment I was manager of Southampton, we did not speak once about Caulker - Before, I had never heard of Steven Caulker to connect him to the Saints - I was the new coach at Feyenoord, and Leroy Fer had already accepted the offer of Twente - I was disappointed because Twente is smaller than Feyenoord - But I worked in a good way with him, he is a strong player - I am happy for him that he has continued in the Premier League - That kind of player has to be playing at the highest level possible - He's a great player and I know his qualities - He's still young and has a lot of potential - We have enough midfield players here, so we don't need to look for that position - Clyne is one of the best full-backs I have managed - That is during the last fifteen years or so - That means a lot, because I like to play with offensive full-backs - He has the right qualities - I am very happy with him - But I am not in a position to tell somebody else's national coach to pick him - He has showed his qualities since the beginning of the season - If he continues like that, he will get a call soon - Toby Alderweireld is back in training, it's looking positive - Maya Yoshida didn't train with us today, but maybe he can train tomorrow - Every game is difficult - QPR had two difficult away games, Manchester United and Tottenham - But they've played on a good level in their home games - They're a little bit unpredictable - They can play 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, so we will see on Saturday - We will prepare in the best way, to beat them - Why is Harry Redknapp unpopular here? - (Simon Peach then explains why) - What I see, even in away games, is a lot of respect from our crowd - That's very different from Holland - Harry Redknapp is in name, a successful manager with a lot of experience - I am not the person to look through the managerial history of Southampton - He is someone who I will respect, and everyone else should be respectful too - We need players who decide to do the right pressing at the right time, not all the time - Pressing starts with the attackers, and sometimes it is difficult for them - They have to get back and do aggressive pressing - It's a team quality - It's my philosophy - I'm not a coach who waits and defends - It's impossible to press for 90 minutes - We do sessions on how to wait for the right moment - That needs time and sometimes we did that against Arsenal and sometimes not - Against Arsenal, there was too much space between the midfield and the defence at time due to pressing - But it needs time, I am happy with the pressing of the players so far - The biggest focus was pressing, so far - It was the biggest change I made in pre-season - It's always difficult when you play three times in a week to get those sessions in - But we have to learn to press properly
This game will prove how good Ronald is for the doubters , I think we will win , and we know he has a plan B ( something with hindsight I don't think MP ever had ) .
Damn you Ronald....I said after Nigel that I would not grow too attached to another Saints manager, but you are too charismatic and likeable not to.
[video=youtube;kRgn5kyITYI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kRgn5kyITYI[/video]
Wow - the players said no to a day off. That's awesome and shows their current spirit. Win, lose or draw on Saturday we know they will have given it their all. Koeman certainly knows how to host a press conference!
'We planned to have Wednesday off, and José Fonte said to me 'Boss, we'd like to come to train tomorrow' ________________________ After a rather tough week of work, I can't say how happy I am to hear that. Well done hard working Saints.
Think the team are happy and on a roll...better to train than be at home getting wound up. Koeman mentioned that the team were already talking about the QPR game in the changing room at the Emirates. The games can't round fast enough for them at the moment.
