Gareth Taylor on city women v villa and international break
18/10/2024
CFGA, Manchester, UK
18/10/2024
CFGA, Manchester, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:00to preview the WSL match against Aston Villa this Sunday.
00:03We will start with questions from Ben Ransom.
00:05Thank you very much. Good morning, Gareth.
00:08I guess a good place to start is the midweek win.
00:11Your team showed plenty of resilience again,
00:14a late goal coming from behind to win.
00:16Now you've had a bit of time to reflect on that performance.
00:19Where does it rank for you?
00:20What were the big positives to take out of the win?
00:23Positives that we were in a difficult situation,
00:26a difficult moment, on a difficult surface.
00:29I think it was probably not very apparent for people viewing the game
00:32that it actually was quite a difficult surface to play on.
00:35It was very dry, there were quite a few bubbles in the pitch as well,
00:40so it made it really difficult for us to play our normal free-flowing game,
00:43particularly centrally, where they were quite strong and had lots of numbers.
00:47But no, I thought it was great.
00:49It just goes to show the character in the team.
00:50And, of course, at 1-0, after a stunner of a goal from Alana,
00:55we were in a really good position to improve on that,
00:59particularly with the amount of chances we had.
01:00And, yes, I think we're still growing in this competition.
01:04I think it's really exciting because it really is about getting the three points
01:10and getting it done as easily as you possibly can.
01:13And, of course, we made a few changes because we have a lot of games at the moment
01:17and we're trying to manage people's load in the appropriate way.
01:21In some areas we're more blessed than others to be able to do that.
01:25So, yes, I have to be really pleased with six points after two games
01:30and the manner of the performances as well have been very different,
01:34but actually a lot of real positives.
01:38Obviously, one more game until the international break.
01:40It's a good time to look at that first block of the season.
01:44I guess if you win this weekend, you'll look at that and think,
01:47it couldn't really have gone much better, could it?
01:50Yes, I was going to say, can we look at it after, rather than trying to predict?
01:55Yes, of course, I think it's been a good start, there's no doubt about that.
02:01I think we set the seeds in the pre-season and in our review from last season
02:07in terms of what we wanted to do as a team moving forward,
02:10and we were able to execute a really strong start to the season.
02:16In terms of being a difficult start,
02:21I think we probably couldn't have got much more of a difficult start, if I'm honest,
02:25but the way the girls have handled it has been spot on.
02:29We're slowly now starting to get into our rhythm
02:33and it's been great having the number of games that we've had, which is exciting.
02:38Of course, we're taking on a competition as well that we've not been in for a couple of years,
02:43and that's great.
02:44Also, players are really excited about dipping in from the WSL game,
02:49the Champions League game, back into WSL.
02:52And of course, we have a tough opponent to play at the weekend,
02:54who I think are probably not getting the rewards in terms of points from their performances so far.
03:02I think they're trying to do some different things there at the club,
03:06which I think is impressive, and they have very experienced and recognised WSL players,
03:12so I think it's a tough game for us,
03:14but we're really pleased to be back in the Joy Stadium, back in front of our fans again.
03:19The last experience we had here was amazing with the support and the game,
03:22and we're looking forward to having that again for the weekend
03:26and looking to finish off, like you say, with a strong performance, a strong result,
03:31and then we can review and say it was an excellent start.
03:36Just one more from me, if I can.
03:38Is there anything that you've seen that tells you your team is better prepared this year
03:43to compete for the trophies than last year, off the back of this fixture run?
03:48Just yes, because of the experience we had.
03:51I think it's so easy to look at a multitude of things,
03:55and we don't know what's going to happen,
03:56we don't know what the outcome of the season is going to be.
03:59All I do know is that the players have fire in their bellies
04:02and they have an intensity in their manner.
04:05That is to try and not necessarily right a few wrongs,
04:10but use the disappointment from last season as real fuel for this season.
04:18It's so hard to be disappointed about last season,
04:21in a season where we played some exceptional football,
04:24went on incredible, record-breaking runs,
04:28but ultimately that final hurdle just came up slightly short,
04:31and I think that's what we're trying to change.
04:34It doesn't happen overnight, it doesn't mean to say we're going to do it,
04:36but from what I've seen and the intensity within the players,
04:40and the harmony within the players,
04:42and the determination to do it is really impressive.
04:49Hi, Gareth. As you say, quite a few changes in midweek.
04:53Can we get a fitness update ahead of the weekend?
04:56Yes, we need to check in on Viv, just to see where she's at.
05:00Obviously, we didn't take her with us, as everyone's aware.
05:05We don't think it's an issue that's going to keep her out for too long,
05:08so we're yet to train her, we'll train later today,
05:11so we'll find out if she's available for the session and we'll go from there.
05:14But of course, Jill was used midweek again, which was great.
05:20Obviously, I haven't played 90 minutes at Liverpool last week,
05:22so she comes back into the reckoning for the team at the weekend.
05:27And of course, we managed to manage some of the players, like Bunny.
05:32Bunny was always planned to play 45 minutes,
05:34we didn't want to not play her at all.
05:37I think it's really important that she continues with her rhythm,
05:41and some players are slightly different.
05:43Kirsten is OK, it was a good opportunity to be able to give her a rest,
05:49because obviously her and Leyla are two recognised full-backs that we have,
05:54and obviously with Naomi not being fit at the moment,
05:57it's quite a lot of load on those guys.
06:00But it was important, obviously, to see Cody and see how she took to the game,
06:05which I thought was really positive for her.
06:08She gave a good account of herself,
06:10because that's not easy to go away in a Champions League fixture
06:13and play your first ever game.
06:17There's no other issues outside of that, everybody's looking good.
06:22Like I say, we're checking with a few others when we get to the training session later.
06:26In terms of the goalkeeper situation, Kiara obviously started the other night,
06:31how do you see that at the moment with Ayaka there as well?
06:36Yeah, Yama was an opportunity to play Kiara,
06:39she's been obviously training hard, supporting Yama,
06:45and we know all about her capabilities.
06:49Yama was just an opportunity, she didn't travel,
06:52just because you can probably not always recognise the amount of work
06:58and mental focus that it takes on every single training session.
07:03Obviously for someone like herself, coming from a different environment completely,
07:06different country, different group of players,
07:09I think it was just a really good opportunity for us to be able to shut her down.
07:13But of course she comes back into the reckoning for the weekend,
07:16and she's been a real positive for us this season so far.
07:20And just finally from me, you mentioned not the perfect start for Aston Villa,
07:24but what threats do you think they do pose?
07:27Yeah, they have quality at the top end of the pitch in the midfield areas as well,
07:32obviously Daly and Daly are good players, they have pace within their team,
07:38and of course they have good options in the back line as well.
07:43So I think that, like I say, they were changing things slightly from what they do,
07:47they try to obviously overload midfields now a little bit more,
07:50this season, than what they've done previously.
07:52Obviously when you have a player like Daly,
07:53she's always really difficult to play against in the counter-attacks.
07:57And, yeah, like I say, I think their performances and the football,
08:03and the quality that they have, is probably not shown in their points tally so far,
08:07but we know that we don't underestimate any team, and particularly this one.
08:13Thank you, Gareth.
08:15We'll go to Zoom now, Dan.
08:18Hi, Gareth, hope you're well.
08:20Obviously, Oba was on the Scorsese in midweek,
08:24I just wanted to ask how she's settling in, because obviously 20 years old,
08:27we know she's a world-class player, but obviously moving to a different league,
08:31the other side of the world, I'd imagine is this quite a challenge for you as a player?
08:35Yeah, it is, and again, I think we sometimes don't actually really take that always into account,
08:41it's so, so difficult for that transition to many different things,
08:47like I mentioned previously with the likes of Yama.
08:50Yeah, of course, Yui was slightly different, obviously another Japanese player,
08:54but Yui had been in London for at least a year, so she was kind of acclimatised into the WSL,
09:00but I think Alba's done phenomenally well, she's such a talented player,
09:05she's a great girl, a great, great character, very, very popular with the rest of the players.
09:12And, yeah, really pleased for her the other night to get her goal,
09:15it was a good cross from Chloe and a really good finish from Alba,
09:18she was a little bit unfortunate not to get one before them.
09:21But, yeah, her quality is great, so sharp in the quick combinations,
09:26handles the ball really well, maintains possession really well,
09:30and, again, similar to Mary, as a winger that can play on both sides,
09:35particularly when she was playing wide on the left the other night,
09:38her cutting in is very good and it causes lots of problems for the opposition.
09:43Just in terms of the international break,
09:45obviously it's been a heavy schedule and I suppose it's no break for the players,
09:49but with being in the Champions League, is there anything you can do to approach that differently,
09:53or when the players return, is there anything you do a little bit different this year?
09:58Well, we're always trying to consider the players as much as we can,
10:01it's always the centre base of what we try to do,
10:05and, of course, where we can we try to give them time away,
10:09we also have to be careful there's not an element of under-training,
10:13which can be dangerous as well, so, yeah,
10:15just sometimes shutting the players down is obviously the objective.
10:19On the next international break, I think in November,
10:24is a real opportunity for us to be able to give them,
10:28even those players that are going away, a little bit of time,
10:30maybe two or three days just before that break,
10:33because I think that's really important as well, that they're able to shut down a little bit.
10:39We do have a couple of players who will probably look at their load management
10:46while they go away with their international team,
10:49so Kirsten Kasperai will be one of those,
10:52I think at the moment for her to go away and play in a two- or three-game window
10:56for the Dutch is really difficult,
10:59and we're having really good conversations with them to try and manage that,
11:03because we want, obviously, the best for the players,
11:06and sometimes the best thing for them as much as they want to play is almost like not to play.
11:11But we don't really want to do that, we don't want to take the games away from them,
11:14and similar to the point you were making about us being in Champions League now,
11:18the less work we do on the training pitch is going to have to be the way forward,
11:21because it's really hard to get the gains that you want on the pitch,
11:26factor in the heavy load that they have in games and all these competitions.
11:32Thanks a lot, Gareth. Best of luck for the weekend, thank you.
11:35Thanks, Dan. Emily, next?
11:39Hi, Gareth, I hope you're well. I just wanted to ask a bit more about Aspen Villa,
11:43and I know you mentioned their tough start to the season,
11:46do you see that as just a blip for them?
11:48Do you think that the quality in their side can get them through and they'll get the results quite soon?
11:54Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely, yeah.
11:57Like I said previously, I think they have some very good, experienced WSL players,
12:03in the likes of Jordan Nobbs, obviously Dali's been in the WSL now for a long time,
12:07Rachel Daly, Lucy Parker, Patton, there's a lot of experience within that team,
12:14and I feel that, again, sometimes you don't always get the luck you deserve with their performances.
12:22That can happen for various reasons, but there were moments that they had the points in the bag in certain games,
12:29and I think more recently the game against Tottenham where they turned it round to go 2-1 up,
12:33and I think it was 95th minute, Beth England scored.
12:36They'll turn the tide, I've no doubt about that.
12:40I think they have a new identity, a new way of playing, which I think is progressive,
12:46so I don't see any reason why those performances now will start turning and transferring themselves into points.
12:56I just wanted to get your thoughts on the timing of this international break.
13:00Is it kind of coming at a bit of a bad time, seeing that you're in such a good run of form at the minute?
13:05It's always the question I get asked.
13:09If you're in a bad spell of form, it also comes at a bad time.
13:14I think there's never a good time to have an international break, and I mean that with all my respects,
13:19because, of course, we need to have international football,
13:22but from a head coach's point of view, you're either on a really good run or on a not-so-good run,
13:26and you don't want it to come either way.
13:28It is what it is.
13:30I think one big improvement for me is the removal of the September window.
13:36I think that allowed us to have a really good pre-season with the players,
13:40it allowed us to go on tour to Australia, it allowed us to really grow those relationships,
13:45so I think that was really key, removing that window,
13:48because, effectively, I remember last season when we had the international break in September,
13:54we started maybe one game, maybe two games, maybe one game, and an international break,
14:00so you're just very, very stop-start, I think, as much as you never really want an international break to come.
14:07I think removing that September one has been really helpful for maybe not just us,
14:11maybe for many of the teams, just to be able to be together with the players more.
14:17Great, thanks, Gary. Good luck for the weekend.
14:21Cheers, guys, thank you.