Vitoria: “To be able to calm the minds of the football players a bit – The team has potential”

His coach PanathinaikouRui Vitoria, commented on his team’s victory over Lamia with a score 1-0 and mentioned what he needs to work on and improve in the team.

What he said in detail at the press conference:

You’ve only been here 10 days, you’re clearly not a wizard. From these first 3 games and the few practices you’ve had, do you think the biggest problem to solve is the psychological one?

“I also feel that there is a tension in the team. We certainly saw this in the game against Djurgarden, the team had a good first half and a completely different second half. This is normal to bring an insecurity in the psychological part. Of course we also knew it well, it was a big challenge that coming into the team we had 3 games in 10 days, where all we had time to do was recuperate, not to pass our ideas. So we knew that in these games the main thing was to win. It came in 2 out of 3. We are sure that the team will improve more, especially in having better decisions in the final third. To make the footballers feel more comfortable so that we can have better final actions. In any case, the victory came, and it came with a pretty good, competitive attitude. We wanted to see a very strong reaction to the defeat that preceded it, we saw that the team came in strong, won duels. In the last third of the field not everything went as we wanted, but in 10 days not everything changes. It is a process that will take time. Let us get to know the footballers and they get to know our ideas. With the time we have in the break things will go their way so we can see something even better from the team, which has really great momentum».

Apart from the decisions in the attacking third, one problem that still seems to exist is when the opposition press high. We saw an innovation with Unai dropping meters and helping back. Is this a fixable problem? Does it also have to do with player characteristics? Do you think there are players who are out of shape or is it purely a matter of confidence?

“Regarding the first part, I think that in terms of the build up we are relatively good. And that’s because what we sometimes want is to provoke the opponent to press us up, so that after a quick circulation we can find the free player. We do this relatively well, we find him free. The problem is that he then has to speed up the game and not turn the ball back. Because several times we trick the opponent into pressing us high, we do it to break that pressure, but we lack to go forward quickly to find defensive imbalance and create conditions for a good final. Possession of the ball should never be the end goal. It is a means to an end, which is the final action and goal. That’s why I would say that I’m relatively calm in terms of traffic from behind, it’s not the front that we have to solve. But we just have to break the pressure to take the ball forward and not turn it back. From there on, we are the ones who have to better direct the team, so that it makes coordinated moves and makes the finals.

As for the second part of the question, I think it’s pretty hard for us to spot a warping issue at this point as well. We arrived in Greece at 08:30 in the morning last week, so arriving from Sweden and having only 2 days to recover, it is quite simplified to say that some are deformed. There are many factors to consider. Some come from injury, some lack rhythm, etc. We also have to analyze things and see if X footballer can play again in a few hours and if not who is suitable to replace him. I think it is better to have a cooler look to analyze the situation and in a period to have more certain conclusions».

Today Bakasetas became the fourth different footballer to score in the Championship. What is needed for more to enter the productive part and provide goals?

“We have a specific path. We will put the players through this process. The only solution is training, hard work. To create automations, so that the players also feel more comfortable to make the right decisions. To be able to calm the minds of the football players a little. No professional can perform at their maximum if there is a lot of tension, fear of failure and mistakes. We have to surround the players with confidence so that they feel comfortable. With hard work, the results will show on the pitch».

There is a break due to National teams. What areas will you focus on in this mini-prep?

“First of all it’s a shame that we won’t have enough players available because of the Nationals. But what we want is for the players who will represent their National Teams to do well and come back prepared for the difficult part of the season ahead. We will mainly focus on some details that need to be improved on the defensive side. In terms of transitions, I have some ideas that need to be implemented and we will work on them. And of course, as we said before, the main issue is how we can reach the last third of the pitch with better conditions and how we can achieve better final efforts. Of course, this is clear, it is not something like a recipe. It is a dynamic process that will require adjustments along the way. There are teams that need too much time to maximize their performance. However we are optimistic that by putting some small things in place, we will see a big improvement in the coming weeks».