- 1 year ago
Manchester City Women's boss Gareth Taylor previews their Women's Super League clash with Crystal Palace
Etihad Training Campus, Manchester, UK
Etihad Training Campus, Manchester, UK
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00:00Just quickly, a quick update on the squad and how they've come through following the international break?
00:04Yeah, hard to give you that answer at the moment because the players have just arrived, we're due
00:08to train in the next couple of hours, team meeting, so we're just finalising a few
00:13kind of niggles that we're aware of from these camps, which is normal, and of course we'll
00:20we'll see who's available, who's ready to train, a couple of little illnesses flying around as
00:24well, which is kind of the norm at the minute because I think there's quite a bit going around,
00:29and when you put that into context as well with the amount of travelling some of these players
00:32have to go through, then it can cause you those issues, but yeah, I think so far from the
00:40information we've had, we're in pretty good shape. I know you never look for excuses, but I suppose
00:46City's probably one of the worst cases with Australian players, Japanese players having to
00:50come from all around the world, so how do you and the management team sort of manage that situation
00:55and make sure everyone comes back as sharp as they possibly can be? Yeah, we individualise it,
00:59we have to. I think that Mary and Alana were in Europe on this occasion, which was fortunate.
01:05Of course, the Japanese girls are the ones who probably travelled the most distance, so
01:10we have to individualise it for each case, and even within the Japanese girls, individualise
01:16that as well because they'll all be different in the way that they recover. So yeah, we try and
01:22give as much individual support as we possibly can, and if that means looking after them in
01:27certain ways or preparing them in different ways with their nutrition-wise or their sleep patterns,
01:32then we try to help as much as we can. Crystal Palace on Sunday and have picked up four points
01:36from the last two games seem to have started to find their feet in the top flight. How do you see
01:41their challenge this weekend? Yeah, a tough challenge, of course. We're going to their
01:46stadium at Sellers Park, which is obviously good for us, but also we're aware of the threats that
01:51they can carry, and like you say, four points in the last two games. Going to Leicester, I don't
01:56expect anybody expected them to bring the three points home, and obviously against a strong
02:00Liverpool team as well, who can be really dominant in some situations. So of course, we need to be
02:05wary of that. We, like them, don't have too much time to prepare, but yeah, I think that's been
02:14the norm for us a little bit this season. With Champions League football, I think it's been great
02:17in that sense that we've had to roll into the next game and recover and get ready really quickly.
02:24And just finally, Lauren Hemp has been named Player of the Month in the WSL. There seems to
02:28be a real added maturity to her game this season. She seems to be getting even better, which seems
02:34mad when you think about what she's already achieved. What have you maybe noticed from
02:37her in the last few months this season, maybe taking on a more senior role and dragging the
02:42team forward even more? Yeah, I've seen huge growth in Lauren's game. I think it's great that
02:47she's been recognised with Player of the Month, and I think it was a really solid month for her
02:51because she really drove the team to high, high levels. And of course, she was always a good
02:58player when I first arrived, there's no doubt about that. She was a player that caught the
03:01eye straight away, but I feel her game understanding is massively improved. I think she recognises the
03:08right moments to go and do her thing and recognises the right moments to maintain possession when the
03:14numbers might be against her. So, very intelligent player, very humble person to work with, has a
03:20really good open mindset to growth, and yeah, she's a real solid member of the team. And like you say,
03:25she's taken on that extra responsibility now, which is great. She's suggesting things, she's
03:30helping young players, even though she's a young player herself. So yeah, like I said previously,
03:35she's great to work with and really enjoying seeing this new kind of
03:44maturity in her. Yeah, definitely. I think she's been great in that sense.
03:54Palace are a side you've not really come up against much. How do you prepare
03:57for this kind of game? We haven't come up against them at all.
04:01So yeah, of course, we study them like we do all opponents. And of course, we
04:08potentially have a better understanding of teams we face more often, of what the game plan will
04:13look like. But yeah, we're pretty solid and having had this international break, our focus has been
04:20on Crystal Palace for sure. So the team have been working hard, the team of staff, making sure the
04:25players are really prepared for what we think we'll face. And of course, like we've said
04:30previously, when that doesn't happen and it's slightly different, we had that scenario against
04:35Liverpool recently where we prepared for certain things in their defensive line-up and the numbers
04:40and they were different. The players are really bright in that sense that they're really able to
04:44pick up where the spaces are likely to be, how that's going to be different for us in the sense
04:50of what we have prepared for. So I think the players are really good in that sense. They've
04:54been really well educated, they've taken on the information really well and we need to be prepared
05:00for various systems that Crystal Palace could play at the weekend. And heading now into quite
05:07a congested run of games, what is that like in terms of the squad coming off an international break?
05:17Well, sometimes that game can come around pretty quickly and normally it's, for us over the last
05:23two seasons, with not having Champions League football, it's been something that we're probably
05:27not used to. Whereas now, preparing every three or four days, preparing team meetings, post-match
05:33meetings, happening every few days, I think it's starting to become the norm. So like I say, the
05:40players are highly educated, they're very bright in their understanding of what we're trying to do
05:45and I think they're taking it in their stride really well. And I think that's been proven with,
05:50I think it's eight victories out of nine, unbeaten in both Europe and in the WSL. So I think great
05:56credit to the players that they are taking on the information and being able to execute it really well.
06:02And just last from me, we heard this week that Viv Miedema has had a surgery on her knee. Is there
06:07any more information on that yet? Only that it was a really minor procedure, it was just a slight
06:14niggle that Viv had that we felt may have gone away. But after discussions with the surgeon,
06:22they decided to do a small procedure and I think it's really going to help Viv. Of course,
06:28she's made a huge contribution. I don't see that contribution changing, although it might
06:32not be on pitch. I've mentioned previously, she's been fabulous with the young players and
06:37the girls in general and the impact that she's had so far on the pitch has been top,
06:43particularly when we've slightly adapted her position. She's added real value to us
06:47and another dimension. And the way I look at it is after getting herself right with this
06:54surgery and obviously getting herself really fit and really strong,
06:58we're going to have an enhanced version. And I think she only has to look at Jill
07:01Road to see that Jill's performing so well after having had that period away from the pitch,
07:08getting herself really strong, really fit, we get back a better version.
07:15We'll go to Zoom now. Dan?
07:18Hi Gareth, hope you're well. I just wanted to ask you about grinding out results because you've
07:23always been consistent in past seasons, but I just think the way that you ground out those
07:28three results before the break was really, really impressive. Do you feel like the team
07:34have kind of stepped up in that area this season?
07:37Yeah, I mean, again, I think it's more to do with probably the improvements of teams. I think when
07:44you look at the Liverpool game, fabulous feeling winning that game really late after having had
07:50the experience midweek of playing against Barcelona. Obviously, we put a lot of energy
07:54into that game. But yeah, I think you have to give credit to the opposition and making it
07:59really difficult now, and the more enthusiasm teams have by being able to kind of stay in the
08:05game. And of course, I think we've been very, very good. I think I always look at the performances
08:11rather than the results. Of course, our results have been great, but I think that's down to our
08:15performances. And again, if we draw that game at Liverpool or if we draw against Villa,
08:20my feeling won't change on the performance. I think we're dominating games. I think in those
08:25two games, Villa, we sustained two shots on target. One of them was a goal. Liverpool,
08:32one long-range action for their goal. We're doing so well in that sense defensively. Although it
08:39feels that we're chasing games a little bit at times, I think the attitude from the players
08:44has been spot on. They've been really calm. We're not panicking. We know we're capable,
08:49and the players have showed that we fight till the end.
08:52Laura Kaminski is a coach who has learned her methods in assistant roles with Spurs and Charlton,
09:04and then she's obviously finally got that opportunity. What has really impressed you
09:08about the way that she's coached her Palace team?
09:11Well, you have to be really impressed with anyone who gets them out of the league below,
09:14and I think that's really impressive. Of course, I managed to have a conversation with her in the
09:19summer. We were at the same event and I was speaking with her. I was speaking with Dougie
09:24Friedman, who's obviously the sporting director at the club, and he's really taken an avid part
09:29in the women's game as well. So, yes, I think it's impressive what they're doing. Obviously,
09:34the challenge now is, I would imagine, I'm not sure on their objective, but I would imagine it
09:39would be to stay in the WSL, and that's really tough, particularly when you see the levels
09:44improving a lot. So, yes, I think what has been impressive is over the last few games and now
09:50their performances are starting to turn into points. They lost 1-0 to Brighton at home.
09:57Again, I've watched that game extensively because I've been fairly impressed with Brighton, but
10:02that was a really tight game as well, and Brighton found it really, really difficult to get over the
10:05line. So we are under no illusions that we're against a tough, solid opponent who will be
10:10fighting for every single challenge. So, yes, we need to be ready for that, and we will be.
10:15How long do you think you'll be out for?
10:34No. No, I don't think we've put a timescale on it at all. I think it's, like I say, it was,
10:40I'm pretty certain it was some form of keyhole surgery. So I don't think it's anything that's
10:44going to keep her out for any particularly long period. But, again, you never know on these
10:49situations what the time back to pitch looks like. But knowing Viv, I just spoke with her before,
10:56actually, and she said she feels she's ready to run, which is maybe slightly ambitious on her
11:00front. But, yes, that's just her in a nutshell. She wants to be back out with us. She's really
11:05enjoying her football with us. Like I say, I think we get an improved version when she comes back.
11:11How is Naomi Lazar getting on at the moment?
11:19Yes, Naomi is getting there. I think the feeling after Barcelona was hopefully this is not going
11:27to be anything too extensive. We still feel that's the case. There has been some slight
11:33bits of swelling that we just need to really get rid of, which is moving in the right direction
11:38before she can enter coming back onto the pitch with us. But, of course,
11:41yes, I think she's made a really strong, solid start to the season for us. And I think that
11:48getting that player back will be really important because she can fill a number of positions.
11:54Also, just finally, what are your thoughts on the timing of the Ballon d'Or ceremony,
11:58which was something that Serena Bale had something to say about, obviously, in terms of
12:02certain players not being able to attend because it was during the international break?
12:08Yes, it's really difficult, this one. I was just having this conversation with Steph.
12:13We went to the awards. I was having a discussion with her about it. I think wherever you put it
12:21in the calendar, there's going to be a problem from someone that they're struggling to attend.
12:24It's so difficult, the calendar, these days. But it is disappointing because I think,
12:30particularly for ourselves, having three players nominated shows the good work that we're doing
12:36and we want to celebrate that. And, of course, for whatever reason, we've not been able to.
12:45But I think there's talk of maybe moving it forward a month next year. I don't know if
12:49it's a whisper at all, but if that's the case, hopefully it helps more female players to be able
12:58to attend.
13:20Yes, super impressed with Jill. I always have been. I think her reaction and her attitude to
13:26everything that's been put in front of her has been great. Of course, she had a tight game
13:32against Indonesia where she was able to get a couple of goals, but I think that's important
13:39for her. Her next game followed up against Denmark was her 100th cap, which was super impressive as
13:44well. I was really pleased when she got the goal against Villa because we don't put any
13:49unnecessary pressure on her because she's finding her way back and we've tried to be patient with
13:54all of our players who've recovered from those types of injuries.
13:59So for her to gain that confidence, get more kind of game time under her belt,
14:06but the adequate game time I think has been important because we really pushed her in that
14:09period before the international break just because a couple of our games were quite tight.
14:15And like I said previously, for me, she looked as fresh in the 90th minute as she did in the first.
14:24Thank you. And do you think, has she been sort of, obviously her and Midamar have had similar
14:29injuries and sort of different kind of recoveries from those. Has she been useful to, has she been
14:35kind of useful to be around Midamar and has she kind of been a good, obviously the compatriots
14:40of the country, has she been a good like shoulder to lean on and has she been helpful with this
14:44other injury setback that they've had? Yeah, I think it's a little bit roles reversed now for
14:49those two. Of course, you know, Viv was fully fit. Jill was making her way back, close to playing.
14:55You know, they're good friends. They've known each other for a long time,
14:58both for club and country. So I think, yeah, they've been good in that sense. And I think
15:04the roles are reversed slightly now, but I think, like I say, Viv hopefully will be back soon,
15:10giving us the quality that she's shown already in the early part of the season.
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