‘It was important to spend time with the players after the game’ Slegers apologetic about missing Paris press conference
Arsenal boss Renee Slegers was apologetic about missing Wednesday night’s post-match press conference in Paris, but insists she felt it was better to be with her players in that moment. After tossing away a two goal lead to Paris FC, including a bizarre late penalty concession, Slegers handed over her post-match commitments to assistant Aaron D’Antino because she was ‘too angry.’
In her pre Manchester City press conference, Slegers asked if she could open the conference with a short explanation (which was not written or read). Slegers said, ‘Referring back to the game in Paris and me not seeing you afterwards. Just wanna tell you my story because I’m sure there will be questions. And I acknowledge the fact that it’s part of the job as well.
‘Thank you for always helping us move the game forward, you’re a big part of the growth of the women’s game…And in that moment, after the game, there was emotion from my end but to control that point quickly I made the decision to be with the team instead. So I spent time with the players straight after the game. I thought that was important and that was a decision I made in the moment in my leadership and I decided to be with the team. So sorry for not being there.’
Asked by Sky Sports whether she thinks she made the right choice, Slegers explained, ‘I think we had that moment to connect with the team straight after was really important for the group- seeing where we are and aconnection of that we’re in this together, and seeing that everyone wants to find a solution, and seeing that there is belief going forward.
‘That was vital, I think and if I can say more about the players and specifically mention the captains they have been monumental, it’s the strongest leadership I’ve seen so far working in football, they’ve been amazing. They’re very calm, composed solution orientated, laser focussed. So it was a great moment that I think vital for us moving forward.
‘It was a difficult night, because we did some good things to get the 2-0 lead and that’s things that we’ve been working on that we really showed. I think we scored two really good goals, so it was claims of us and moving towards our best. So then, of course, it was really hard to take, not getting the 3 points.
‘Afterwards it was a moment was to connect. But also today I have to be finding the solutions, I have to be calm. I have to get direction. I have to lead now but at the same time, what I also feel is gratitude for how everyone is responding and how together we are, the session on the pitch was today. It was really, really good.’
Arseblog News asked Slegers what the source of her anger was after the game, ‘Never the players. The players have been brilliant. I’ve seen the best side sides of them that I haven’t seen before. The situation that we’re in, of course, it’s built up and then I think the fact that we were getting somewhere, and we put ourselves in a positive scenario, and got those two goals in a really good way, and then it slips through our hands again.
‘That sounds like I’m not taking responsibility. It is our responsibility that we let them back into the game so that was the biggest factor of the night. I’ll always look at what’s within our control. So referee is not too much. I think what was tougher than that decision- because it’s fair if you want to make the call- it’s part of the laws of the game. But the ref was in the line of our pass many times, that was more frustration than the actual goal.’
Arseblog News also asked whether there was value in ‘switching up the energy’ and being more emotional after the game given the situation the team is in, ‘Absolutely. That’s also something we spoke about in the huddle on the pitch. Everyone is feeling emotions right now and I said to the team, ‘I’m angry. I’m really angry and let’s try to use the emotions that we’re feeling and let it fuel us moving forward. That’s definitely part of what I hope, what I see and what I believe is going to help us in the right direction.’
The post ‘It was important to spend time with the players after the game’ Slegers apologetic about missing Paris press conference appeared first on Arseblog News - the Arsenal news site.