Every word of Jonas' pre-Everton press conference

As we prepare for the return of the Women's Super League this weekend, Jonas Eidevall has addressed the media.

He was asked about our upcoming opponents Everton, Manu Zinsberger's new contract and the timeline of Leah Williamson's recovery.

Here is everything the boss had to say:

on injury news…

I think it's looking good. It's not much change since the game that we had against Watford. Steph Catley returned to the squad again. So that's an addition and other than that, there hasn't been much change. 

on Leah Williamson's return…

She's close. She's returned to full training. Again, tomorrow will be a little bit too soon, but after that, I definitely think she's in contention to be in matchday squads. Potentially in the next fixture. 

on Manu’s new contract…

I think Manu has been very good for us, both on the pitch with her footballing abilities, but also as a leader in the group and as a person setting really high standards, both for herself and for the team. I'm really happy about having her as a part of the goalkeeping team going forward.

on whether there will be more transfer activity this window…

A little bit more. But like I said before, not much more incoming. I think it might be a little bit more on the outgoing but we also have to consider that we have a good balance in the squad. And with a player like Leah Williamson returning from injury and potentially Laura Wienroither as well coming in here in the spring, being able to return fully to play, that puts us in a very good situation.

on where he would strengthen if he could…

It's a very hypothetical question. And like I said, we don't look at any specific position right now, to go in and say "We need to go in here and strengthen." But, as always, if the right situation would appear and it would align with our long term visions, then it might obviously change. But at the moment, no.

on whether Lia Walti will be staying…

Yeah, I don't have any other idea in my head. I don't think she has either.

on where those rumours came from…

Obviously, from people who want attention. I think that's obviously the problem with rumours, that when there is not a direct reliable source, you can't really do much with them. I would say that the Lia Walti rumour that she could potentially be leaving definitely falls under the category of 'no truth whatsoever'. It's a player we are very happy with. I think she's very happy at the club as well. So, I understand it's hard for supporters when you read things like that to understand if there is truth in it or not. But this one here, definitely not.

on how disappointed he is the game won’t be streamed…

Of course, we're disappointed for people who want to watch our game live and can't do it. It's a situation where when people were aware of the situation, it would have been hard to move the game for match-going supporters as well because people also make commitments and plan their schedules around that. We're really proud of all the people coming to support us at Boreham Wood and the fantastic commitment that they have to their team. But of course, in the future, all stakeholders need to look at that to try and avoid these situations in the future. 

on whether the blackout rulings should change…

Personally, I don’t have any opinion on that. I think you can view that rule from many different perspectives. I don’t that’s an easy answer or a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. I think it will be persons much more competent, and looking at it with a far more balanced view than me that will have better input in that question. 

on Manu’s mentality…

She’s very competitive and she works great as a team with other goalkeepers as well. You can see from her journey that she also takes some things from other goalkeepers. I think she has developed her play with her feet and also her longer range and longer distribution a lot, since for example, Sabrina came along. That’s obviously one of Sabrina’s strengths, but I very much see that as a benefit when you work in partnerships with goalkeepers, that they can complement each other. Also for them to see each other and think ‘ok, she has a real strength here, maybe that’s something I can develop as well.’ Seeing that so closely, it obviously works the other way around with Sabrina and Manu as well. That growth mindset from Manu definitely plays a big part in her being able to play so often and so well for us. 

on whether it is also an investment in the future given Manu is 28…

You are spot on with the age perspective. It differs so much from an outfield player where you would say that the peak age normally would be between 24 and 28. Goalkeepers usually have their peak age after 30, and it’s obviously such a big difference in age. It comes from the experience you need to have in the position, from the decision-making and that’s so exciting with Manu, we still believe, she believes as well, that she has her best footballing years in front of her.  

on the likelihood of a loan move for Gio…

She still needs game time. That’s really important for her to develop and take the next step so that’s definitely (the plan).

on Viv and Alessia’s partnership:

Like I said after the game I think we have a lot of really interesting match-ups if we start with the nine and ten relationship that we play. They can complement each other in many different ways and it’s important for us to try to find what is the best connection and the best relationship depending on what game state and opponents we are playing against. If we speak specifically about Viv and Alessia, they’re two very good technical players, both have great game intelligence and should be able to use movements in space in a very efficient way together

on whether he is still looking for a goalkeeper:

Like I said before, we’re still very much looking for a short-term solution. In the period around, over and potentially a little bit after the Gold Cup will be most likely when we lose Sabrina D’Angelo to Canada, so that is not impacted at all by Manuela Zinsberger. Until the summer, we’re going to look at a lot of different positions to see how we strengthen the squad in the best possible way.

on facing Everton:
Essentially I believe very much in what Brian is trying to do and if you become really good in what you’re trying to do and you get a lot of repetition in doing that, that will give you the absolute best chance of succeeding. Then it’s of course about finding the way to combine your passion and heart for the game with your brain and logical decision-making to make the team win the most. That’s the path you as a coach need to lead the team on. For the team to stay consistent and be able to play the same game week in and week out, I definitely think that has more advantages than disadvantages.

on Everton’s season so far:

They’ve been consistent in the way that they’ve been playing. They haven’t let short-term results influence too much on their belief in what they’re trying to achieve as a group long-term. I think they’ve been, both the team and Brian, very calm and methodological in the way they’ve been handling that. They’ve picked up some results lately but the reality has been that, in some of the games earlier on in the season, they could’ve picked up results as well but they didn’t. It’s been good to see them having belief in the way they play. Being long-term in their ambition and I think that paid off for them.