Press conference

Every word of Eidevall's pre-Everton presser

Jonas Eidevall presser

Jonas Eidevall held his pre-match press conference ahead of our WSL match against Everton on Saturday.

The boss fielded questions from the media on a variety of topics, including returns from injury, squad morale, and what he expects from the Toffees. 

Here's everything he had to say:

on the good news on the injury front…

Yeah, it's been good. We have Leah and Rafa, who are able to go back into the matchday squad here tomorrow, so that's obviously pleasing for us. We're starting to get players back from injuries and improving numbers again in the squad, so looking forward to that.

on whether Leah and Rafa will both start tomorrow...

They're in the matchday squad. So starting XI, everyone will know tomorrow. 

on how much of a boost their return had on the squad...

When I see us practice and these two players come into our environment, I think it helps us a lot because we get two more players of very high quality into our environment, into our way of playing and of course that will boost any team and it certainly does for us.

on whether the pair's leadership qualities have changed the squad dynamic...

I think when you see a player like Leah coming into the environment, you can definitely see what qualities she will bring both on and off the ball and with her leadership. Absolutely. It's the same with Rafa - it's two quality players.

Leah Williamson and Rafaelle Souza in training

on how Leah coped with the time on the sidelines...

I think she's very motivated to get back onto the pitch and to help the team achieve things on the pitch. I sense that with all the players that have been injured or are injured, her motivation is really strong, and they're working really hard to get back into the team again, to help the team. Once they go on to the pitch, they're very happy to be there. 

on whether this break helped after the euphoria of winning the Euros...

I think that you have to do your best with any hand that you're dealt. And if you get dealt a hand with an injury, then you have to do your best with that. But in that process, when she was off the pitch, we also tried to prioritise the mental part of getting ready, not only the physical getting ready.

She got some time off from not being in a strict team environment all the time to allow for some more freedom. What we have to remember with the national team players - especially when they go far in the tournaments in the summer - is that they essentially don't get any free time at all. With any human being, if you lived a life like that over a long period I think that would restrict your motivation. So it's really important that we can make that planning happen for those situations.

on Lina Hurtig's potential return...

She's progressing well just like Kim Little is, but they're not ready to be in a matchday squad. She'll hopefully return before Christmas

on Teyah Goldie's recovery from her ACL injury...

It's a little bit more complicated when it comes to an ACL injury because Teyah is progressing really well and she's on the pitch and she's doing a lot of things with the team. But now that needs a little bit of time, so we're not stressing about any specific date. It has to be case by case so she gets the rhythm back to playing football.

on whether he feels like we're in a good place...

So far, we've managed a difficult period in a very good way. But let's not relax! We're not done with it. I told the players that today when I selected the Everton team. I said, it's great that we're getting the players back, but it also means that whenever we get players back, it's also a new team coming out to play.

We need to keep doing our basics, keep remembering our identity and we need to build that up. It's a little similar to when we come back after international periods: we need to start building from the basics and not from the top.

on whether he thinks the playing schedule is to blame for our recent spate of injuries...

I think it's obviously more complex than the schedule only. It goes hand in hand with the demands of the game. It's tougher and you want to get more revenue into the game as well. People want you to play more matches, they want to select more from a broadcast perspective when those matches are going to be played because it's commercially driven, rather than only being driven from the sporting point of view.

But I read something today that I found really interesting. It was a comparison between why there are so many ACL injuries in women's football compared to men's football and then it looked into the factors that were behind that. When you compare top men's football compared to top women's football, you play more games in men's football than you do in women's football, but you still have fewer injuries and fewer knee injuries. So it comes down to other things, whether that's the support structure around it. I think it's about having a playing schedule where we have all the same supporting mechanism beneath it, for the players and for the clubs. That's what we need to get in place, so we can keep the players healthy and on the pitch.

on what specific support structures he'd like to see...

Basically, everything that would keep players on the pitch. That could be things like how you are travelling which determines how well you recover and how well you sleep, but it could also be things like the support structure that you have at the club. For example, with access to doctors and physiotherapists and individualised training/loading programmes. The cooperation between the club and national team at that level, to find a structure for the individual player. So I think the more demands we put on the players with the player schedule, the more support we also need to give in order for them to not break down. 

Beth Mead

on how the club plans on replacing Beth Mead during her ACL injury...

We will still evaluate where Gio [Queiroz] is at and where would be the best place for her to continue her development. When the transfer window opens up, I think we have all possibilities open there still. I'm most certain that we need to replace Beth Mead this season, but we have to see what that replacement looks like.

on his impressions of Everton this season...

They have had a real change in expectations. I've only been here for 18 months but when I came, Everton were going to challenge for the Champions League qualification and now that's not really the expectation of that team. I don't think they have lost a massive amount of players from that team that was going to challenge. I think they have a very good team.

But I think they're playing with their shoulders down a lot now because they don't have those expectations on them, which helps their performance. This shows why it's so important to match expectations and reality. 

on whether he's looking forward to playing against Brian Sorensen's side...

They have a very clear identity. You can see that [Sorensen] is trying to build something long-term in the way that they are very consistent in how they do things, almost regardless of what opponents they play. So they ask some interesting tactical questions of the teams they play against, so I'm always looking forward to playing against them.

on whether Meadow Park still feels like our home...

Yes, it does. I'm very flexible as a person. I really enjoy it when we're at Emirates but I also really enjoy seeing us play in front of the fans at Meadow Park. It's like what I was saying before: you have to do the best with the hand that you're dealt. That's what life is about and we make sure that we enjoy playing at both our home grounds.

Stina Blackstenius celebrates scoring against West Ham United

on our rare week off from matches...

We managed to have a weekend off, which I think was the right thing to do. But after that, I think we have had some really good qualitative training sessions. We worked on things that it's important for us to develop long-term, so it's been really nice being on the pitch together with the team and working on that.

on granting our players periods of personal leave...

We need to make those decisions on an individual basis. It's about the support system. It's about us as an organisation, but also as individuals, learning and living with the playing schedule. How we refocus, how we recharge and what tools we have to do that.

One thing that is clear is that you have to have some time off football. That is important for any job, even if you love your job and it's your passion and it's what you want to do. All of us have vacation time because we know we need that. It's a deeply human thing where you need to switch off and reconnect. That has nothing to do with you not loving what you're doing - you have to be allowed some alone time. That is important in any workplace and we need to acknowledge that.

on the morale of our squad at present...

I think the morale of the team is great. I think they are they're working so well together. They're coming in, they're engaged, and they work hard on the pitch. We look at the games and we see where we can develop, no matter the results. I can see when we are doing that and what direction we are going in. I know that that will certainly improve us and make us more prepared for success in the future.

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