Head coach Kosta Runjaic spoke in a press conference ahead of the away clash with Atalanta on Sunday. Here’s what he had to say…
“Are Atalanta the toughest opponents? There are no easy matches. Atalanta are a team of real calibre. I watched their game against Stuttgart and they played exceptionally well, showing ideas that they’ve been working on for years with intensity and discipline. They have players suited to their style, excellent quality and they’re in great form. We know exactly what to expect, but I wouldn’t say the next match is the toughest. We must be resilient, fight fire with fire, win our duels and stay true to our game principles. It’ll be challenging, but we won’t give up before we start.
“I believe my team is smart enough to know when we’re playing well and when we’re not. As the manager, I need to speak with my players, fix what isn’t working and be clear with them. We mustn’t lose our way. Against Juventus, it bothered me that we didn’t respond well when things didn’t go as planned. Against Atalanta, we’ll need intensity and must stay in the game, or we’ll end up like we did against Juventus. If we don’t help each other, give 100%, have good movement and win our duels, any opponents can cause us problems. We have to give everything to ensure that what happened against Juventus doesn’t repeat itself. We need to be in top form. We’re in a growth phase, I know what still needs to be done and where we need to improve. After the Juventus match, I wasn’t harsh, but I just wanted to express what I didn’t like about our performance.
“A four-man defence in the future is certainly an option. We want a stable base from which we can make adjustments. The important thing is internalising the principles so that we can change our formation based on our opponents, but our intensity must remain the same. After Atalanta, there is an international break and we’ll try out other solutions, including a four-man defence. We still have a lot of work to do. We want to try new options gradually and calmly. We need to concentrate our energy and be prepared to keep growing, but first, we need a solid foundation before the variations can be implemented.
“[Jurgen] Ekkelenkamp has been training well, he’s in good shape and better than last week. We’ll see the day after tomorrow if he’ll start, but I’m pleased with his work and that he’s back to 100%. The same goes for [Florian] Thauvin. He wasn’t at his best for a while. Even in the last game, he wasn’t fully fit and still feels some pain, but he’ll improve gradually. [Thomas] Kristensen is rejoining the squad. Today, he did the first part of training with his team-mates and then worked individually on running. After the break, or maybe even next week, he could be at 100%.
“[Alexis] Sanchez is following his rehabilitation programme. The recovery time has been extended a bit, so I can’t predict when he’ll return, but he’s working hard, we’re always in touch and we can’t wait for him to come back, but we can’t rush it. We accept the situation, and we’ll be all the happier when he’s back.
“In terms of formation, we have many options, but we’ll see how to implement them. Playing with a back four isn’t an issue for me. Each system has its pros and cons. It’s about which players we have, where they can play and what each one can bring. The key thing is how the team adapts to the formation, not the formation itself. We’ve only been together for a short time and need to keep improving. The important things for me right now are having team spirit, giving it our all and never giving up. It’s part our foundations. The team that brings the most passion on to the pitch has a better chance of winning. We want to keep working on our mentality, avoid mistakes and be smarter. This is all part of our development. Let’s look at Atalanta: in 2014/15, they were seventeenth and two years later, they played exceptionally well, earning several top-five finishes, winning the Europa League and growing immensely. Everyone in Europe knows Atalanta for their style of play. They’re a perfect example of what’s possible when a team believes in its principles, but you need time to build a path like that and we can learn from Atalanta, a ‘mid-table’ team that established itself among the elite by believing in its principles.
“[Lazar] Samardzic is a great player. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have bought him. He’s highly technical, dangerous when he shoots and he’s had to adapt to their style of play, but he’s improving and already scored an important goal. They’re lucky to have him, while I’m a bit disappointed to have lost him. We have other excellent players who can perform well here and improve over the coming years. I’m focused on my players and Samardzic no longer plays for us. Regardless of their line-up, we must give our all to bring home the points.
“[Mateo] Retegui is a great player, but they have many strong players. We’ve watched videos in groups and individually, but I think it’s more important to stay focused while playing. We know how our opponents play, but we can’t lose our cohesion. There are some players who you can’t defend against one-on-one. You need support from team-mates to close down spaces, be aggressive and clever. We shouldn’t focus too much on pre-match information. Players need to trust their instincts and mentality is crucial to handling different phases of the game. We’ve watched several videos of Atalanta, but things can go differently and my players need to adapt. This is a process. At times, we haven’t shown enough maturity in this regard, but that comes through playing, getting to you’re your team-mates and understanding the game mechanics better. The important thing is to believe in yourself.”