Valérien Ismaël spoke to the media ahead of Watford’s Sky Bet Championship clash against Coventry City tomorrow (Saturday March 9, 3pm KO).
Read what the Head Coach had to say below...
On how to overcome the current mental stumbling block:
It is difficult because we cannot train a lot with the players between the games, but in the changing room we are having discussions and meetings, and I think we saw in the second half [against Swansea] the energy was back. This is something we need to build on.
[In that second half] we saw we were back in our shape, to our principles, and to what we know. It looks really good, and this is what we need - that energy, that desire - and you see as soon as we scored the goal the relief was there and we were pushing for the second goal. This is the energy and the desire that we want to see and tomorrow we need to put the energy from the second half into the game.
On the importance of starting the game strongly:
I think it is always important. You want a game plan, and you want always to start well and you never want to start like we did. Saturday is another chance to do the right thing. Even when the situation is tough you always have the chance in the next game to do it right, so we go again.
On Ken Sema and other team news:
Ken Sema is ruled out of the game. We assessed with a scan and we are waiting for the results to see how bad it is. Jez Ngakia as well will be out for the game, but otherwise all the other players are ready to go.
On what to expect from Coventry:
It is another tough game - we know that from the reverse fixture as well, 3-3 in an entertaining game. We are ready, all the games are difficult but in this league anyone can beat anyone, and now it is our turn to make sure that we are doing the right thing, like in the second half against Swansea.
On the players being too eager to impress:
Maybe [some of the players were] over-motivated in the situation, so actually it is nothing bad. It shows the desire to show something, but in some situations it is just about having that composure and to see when you have to react properly according to the situation.
It has happened, it is important now to think about what we did well in the second half, and to stay on that positive wave, the energy, the mobility that we saw on the pitch.
As soon as we scored a goal, [you saw] the desire from the players that we need to continue that way. Someone picked the ball up in the net and came back in the middle, so it is something alive, and something there for the players. When you are lacking in confidence like that, you have to win a game to get that confidence back quickly.
On the fans' backing after Porteous' equaliser on Wednesday:
As hard as it is, the fans always have great feeling with our team, and when we do the right thing we actually can use this for us. If they are really behind us after the first goal it is a good sign that we are doing something right, so [we know we need to] stay that way. This is what we need.
We need to continue that way, and they will stay with us. It just shows for sure you can expect something from us. We have to do more and to do better, but if we need it, they will be there for us.
On the players struggling to get clean shots off:
The players are taking the extra touch. As I said after the game, we wanted to be too sure with the pass, we think too much, there was another extra touch to make sure the ball is right, but you can’t have the extra time because then the defender has time to come back.
We say to the players, get back to our strength and that energy, shoot on target, take the risks, force the opponent to defend. Don’t think too much; even if you go high, go high, but at least we need to be able to come back to that energy.
It is all about putting the energy onto the pitch. We try everything every game and we will continue, because we are working in our jobs in order to win games. This situation is not what we expected, nobody expected that, but it is a situation, so it is a challenge now, to stick together and to make sure that we put the same energy like in the second half.
On the viral social media post of alleged messages sent by Coventry's staff:
I didn’t see it. I heard that it is something, but I didn’t see it. The focus is always on the next game. When you have a bad run and when you are losing games then these things happen, you can change things by winning the next game and now I think is a great opportunity to do it.
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