Interview

‘It was brilliant… we showed strength and courage’

Ljungberg and Amaechi

We delivered a five-star performance in the Premier League 2 on Monday night as we eased past Derby County. 

Tyreece John-Jules struck twice in the space of five minutes, taking his tally up to 15 for the season, before Joe Willock made it three with a stunning first-time volley. Xavier Amaechi and Zech Medley furthered our advantage in the second half. 

We spoke to Freddie Ljungberg after the final whistle - and this is what he said: 

on the overall performance… 

It was brilliant. As a coach you can’t be any happier. They showed strength, courage and they dared to get on the ball when it was tight. They played, the rotations were great and the structure was working well. It was a very, very good team performance and there were some really good individuals in it.

on John-Jules’ development… 

TJ has always been a very good football player and we’re trying to use him a little bit more in play. He comes a little bit deeper and he’s becoming more involved in the game. We’re using his strengths and he gets the goals as well, so it’s really good. We’ve got to rush him slowly! But he’s doing really well and I’m very happy for him.

on Zak Swanson and Ben Cottrell making their PL2 debuts…

(Zak Swanson assisted with his first touch) and Zech Medley scored  after coming straight on from the bench! They did very well and of course while we’re winning the game it was a good moment to bring them on. Ben has done well the under-18s and I think they really deserved their reward. It’s nice when you see younger players coming in. I told the older boys to look after them and help them when they come and that’s a responsibility that you learn as a player.

on praising Okonkwo for playing a probing pass out of defence…

That’s how I want to play football! I want my opponents to run a lot, I want them to get tired and I want to win 5-0. For me I need the goalkeepers to be involved in the game so in training I use them a lot to just be involved in playing football. What he did wasn’t easy and that’s why I got so happy. He’s worked really hard for a year or so and he’s worked so hard on those things, so when it comes off, as a coach you get so happy! Sorry, maybe that’s me being a freak! 

on going seven games unbeaten…

We had a tough spell when we had a lot of Checkatrade games and a lot of players with the first team, which was around November and December, but after that the boys have bounced back and played tremendous football. It’s been good this year and now we have two games left; one at Stamford Bridge and one at Emirates Stadium, so it can’t be any better!

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