We’re really happy’ – Narcis Pelach press conference in full as Stoke City head to Middlesbrough.
Every word from the new Stoke City head coach on his first full week on the training pitch, an away game at Middlesbrough and how players have been taking to his demands.
Narcis Pelach took a break from his first full week on the training ground to preview Stoke City’s trip to Middlesbrough.
Narcis Pelach: Very positive. We’re really happy with the training. The intensity was very good. Of course we’re changing methodology here – two-day loading so today we went down a little bit. I think they will be fit for Saturday or at least fitter than the other week which was a three-game week and not ideal to come in with a lot of information. Now we have more time to talk about everything but I think the players took on board everything we wanted very quickly.
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It was a positive first 35 minutes, which were very good, exceptionally good, and it’s a pity we didn’t kill the game when we had the chance and in the second half we lost control. We’ve talked about all this, the players know, the players are happy with the fact we have a clear way to go. We’ll work on that and expect the team to give a good performance on Saturday even though we are playing against Middlesbrough and a tough place to go, a tough team.
What changes do you have to affect very quickly to make sure what happened against Hull doesn’t happen again?
Emotionally I think we lost control after the goal. Bad things happen in a game and that’s always going to happen for all of us, not just Stoke City but every team in the Championship or the world. You have to react to things that happen in a positive way or as positive as possible.It shouldn’t have been a penalty because he was offside and that’s frustrating but I told the players, ‘Look these aren’t the kind of things we have to look at because we can’t control that.’
Now of course we have a week preparation and a good mental state they understand this and accept that. Bad things are going to happen so it’s about good body language and how we react. We will go the other way so it’s not something I’m worried about. I just want my team to be focused and understand what we have to do in every moment of the game, to play in a certain style, to maintain that. I’m very positive, even knowing we lost control and eventually lost the game.
