Danny Cowley will take charge of his first home game on Saturday afternoon when the U’s face Bradford City (KO 3pm).
The Head Coach spoke to the press ahead of the clash at the JobServe Community Stadium and here’s what he had to say.
On having a full week to prepare…
“I think for us to have a full week has been great. Obviously last week we were only coming at the backend, and only had a two-day lead in which is always a challenge particularly when you first start a job but I believe we took a little bit of momentum from Saturday - from thirty minutes onwards we were able to get real control in the game.
“And the second half we played with real dominance controlled the game and dominated the ball in the attacking half. I was pleased for the boys to get their just rewards in the final moment of that game and they have been able to take that energy into this week and the boys’ attitude and work ethic has been really good.”
On imparting ideas and getting to know the players…
“It's been great to do both really. You always love your time on the grass with the players, but naturally when you're in a forty-six-game season that is relatively limited. So, we tried to use the rest of the time to get to know them and to connect with them and just to understand their journeys.
“And I think it's always important to understand where they are today, maybe understand where they want to go and what their dreams and aspirations are. And then I think once you're aware of this, then you can get a feeling of how maybe you can help and support them best. There’s been lots of conversations, lots of lots of talk, lots of sort of individual meetings.
“It's always great for us, we love people and it's been great to get to know them. And of course, the time on the grass is just so important for us at the moment because we're a new group with some new ideas and some new principles and, ultimately the idea of training is to keep rehearsing and keep practicing.
“There are some behaviours that are really important to us and to the way that we play. And the more we rehearse, the more we practice, the more these become natural and automatic. And this is our aim, if we can get to that point where the behaviours become automatic, then maybe we can turn the page and start to write the next layer of detail.”
On Attending U21s game against Walthamstow FC in the Essex Senior Cup...
“I loved Tuesday night. It was great. Great to go to Walthamstow and we thank them for their hospitality. The toughest of challenges for the group in terms of the pitch, the pitch was difficult. I can't remember a more difficult pitch, not in my recent years of management anyway.
“I learned loads about the players, maybe not so much technically and tactically because the pitch didn't allow but loads about them in terms of their desire and determination and their emotional intelligence.
“It wasn't going to be perfect. It was never going to be perfect. I don't think football or life, it's never perfect. And, ultimately football is a game that's littered with mistakes and it’s not making the mistake that defines you, it's always the reaction and the response.
“I really liked what I saw on Tuesday night and of course, we couldn't quite find the goal to get us in the next round in the 90 minutes. Credit to Walthamstow because they were really durable themselves, played a really organised way, very compact defensive shape, and were difficult to break down and we would have probably liked to have been a little bit more clinical and ruthless maybe, but we couldn't and the game went to penalties.”
On Bradford City…
“We have great respect for Bradford City. I think it's a brilliant football club with some really good people there. Graham Alexander's a really experienced football man, had a brilliant career, got the very, very most out of his career, and is a hugely experienced manager and has been very successful to this point. He came in just before Christmas. They had a brilliant run over the Christmas period, I think the best one in the club's history in terms of back-to-back wins.
“They also beat Derby on Tuesday night, so we know we find a team in a good moment and good form and absolutely we're well aware of their strengths. But I think for us it’s to always focus on us and put our energy into what we can do and what we can control.
“All week, really, the focus has been on us with and without the ball, because both are equally as important and obviously the restart moment as well.
“We know that in football I think, in League One, last year there were well over eighty set pieces per game. So if you think about that that's nearly one per minute. So, this part of the game becomes really, really important and we have to keep working at this aspect so that if we can, we will have a tactical advantage over our opponent virtually every minute of the ninety.”
You can watch the full interview with Danny at the top of the page.
Tickets are still available for Danny and Nicky Cowley’s first home match. Click HERE to get yours and make sure to bring a scarf to create a wonderful welcoming display.
If you can’t make it to the JobServe Community Stadium on Saturday, you can listen to all the action with a £2.50 iFollow Audio Pass. Click HERE to see what options are available to you.
