Eidevall: "We have to look forward"

After a disappointing defeat at the weekend, Jonas Eidevall is looking forward to the opportunity to bounce back in the Conti Cup on Wednesday. 

"We have to look forward," said our head coach at his pre-London City Lionesses press conference. "We have to acknowledge what things we need to do better and what things we need to continue doing. 

"Sometimes it's how football is. Things have been looking good and then you take a step backwards. Of course, we’re very frustrated with the result and it doesn’t entirely mirror the performance in that game, but we need to take ownership of all parts in that performance that can help us get better results. There are plenty of things still that we can improve and do better on so that’s what we need to put our focus on."

When it comes to specific areas of improvement, Eidevall reflected on the biggest learnings from the West Ham defeat. 

"Even if I think we created enough chances to win the game, it’s easy to say we need to be more efficient, but I also think there are things in how we are positioned and how we use the whole field to make it difficult for the opponent to defend in a low block.

"It’s something we can definitely improve on and we need to do that, so we learn from every game, win or lose, and there was some crucial learning from the West Ham game that we need to put into action."

In the press conference, our head coach was asked whether the weekend's loss meant increased importance for the two upcoming cup games against London City Lionesses and Man City respectively.

"I don't think like that. I prepare the team as well as possible for the next game that we're going to play and we're going to do our very best to win that football game. In essence, that's always what you can control and that's where we need to put our focus. 

"These games here, they have the same importance and in all three competitions, we want to do as well as possible. Not only that, we need to see things in both the short term and long term. To present as good a version of yourself as a team every day in training and when we play games is the only way to develop. If you're not giving 100%, you're not going to develop and that's why it's so important to strive for that always. 

"For us, every time we go out and play a game, it's the most important game that we have ever played because it's the next one. That's the mindset for both these two games."