Valérien Ismaël spoke to the media ahead of Watford’s clash against Birmingham City on Saturday (September 16, 3pm KO), with the Hornets looking to pick up valuable points after the international break.
Covering a range of topics, including team news, the Hornets’ playing style, Jamal Lewis and his thoughts on the Blues, read what the Head Coach had to say below…
On team news ahead of the match:
We have an intense international break behind us. From the players who went away, we have a slight issue with Ken Sema – tiredness, nothing major. He played two games and 90 minutes so we will see in training how he is and how it goes. Jamal Lewis is fit, and he has trained well throughout the two weeks with consistency. We are pleased that he will be available for the game tomorrow.
On Birmingham City:
It will be a difficult game for us. A lot of teams have changed how they play against us, so we expect a difficult game. They will try to make the space very tight and try to counter attack us. It will be an intense and direct game on that side, so we have to be ready for the second balls and win our duels. We are prepared for the game. We know exactly what we have to do tomorrow, and we are focused on us, as usual, because we have a big desire to get the points. It will be important to start well after the international break.
On his side’s playing style:
[In this] first block [of games] I wanted to see the identity on the pitch of what we are trying to do and work on. I think the feeling is there, but now the next block - until the next international break - it’s about getting the points and the reward. We want to have more points on the table than the first block. We will work hard to combine everything. We want to confirm our performances with points. We need to keep moving forward quicker than the first block. There is always pressure for everyone. We want to win and I’m a winner. We need to start to develop that winning mentality and for that, you need to win games and help to build momentum.
On Jamal Lewis:
I think it’s important that he stays healthy with consistency. He needs games. He has the rhythm in training – we have found a good rhythm – but it’s now about finding that rhythm in games. Technically and physically, he brings everything we need for that position. He has exactly the profile we need and it’s the reason why we picked him. Now we take his situation step-by-step, and we need the first step tomorrow and then after that, we go from there. We have a few games in a week so we will see how it goes. We will take it one game at a time with him.
-dynamic_image.jpg)
On Matheus Martins:
We see the potential in him and we have worked a lot with him. We put him in the position he loves – he prefers to play on the left side and to come inside. He has already shown his quality. He is playing at a very good level at the minute, but I think he can reach the next level and this is what we expect from him. In the end, he needs to make an impact in games and make a difference so he can become a key player for us.
On Rhys Healey:
He has recovered from his calf injury so he is close to training with the team. I saw him yesterday in good shape I have to say, mentally and physically. Maybe it was the setback he needed to refresh and find that new motivation. We will count on him and it’s about him finding that confidence to get that build-up in training. Hopefully, we can count on him soon.
