Manager Analyzes Team's Defeat to Brentford: Key Issues Identified

The manager did not sugarcoat it. His team were second best in almost every duel and he knew exactly where the game had slipped away.

“Bad game. We lost and suffered the difference in the duels. It was the key of this game,” he admitted, laying bare the brutal truth of a defeat to Brentford that exposed physical and tactical shortcomings. “We didn't fight in the right way. Maybe credit to them because it's the best quality Brentford have.”

The honesty continued. He pointed straight at fitness and cohesion, or rather the lack of both. Several players returned late after the World Cup, others are still bedding in, and the starting XI looked like a group still learning each other’s names rather than a fully formed side.

“Our physical condition was not at the right level for all players because many came later after the World Cup and there were many new players in the squad and first XI,” he said. “But we have to analyse this game better because we can't play this way in this type of game.”

He sounded stunned by the scale of the drop-off.

“I am surprised by the result and performance. I knew we were not in the right condition. We can't find an excuse. I am sorry for the result and performance. We are starting a new project and we couldn't find the principal.”

Key figures are clearly short. Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Sandro Tonali were all named as not yet at the level required, a problem the coach had anticipated but one that still hurt when exposed under Brentford’s relentless intensity.

“Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Sandro Tonali are not in the best physical condition. We knew that before the game. We have to improve on that and many other things, like organisation and pressing.”

The word “improve” kept coming back. Quickly, too.

“We can improve quickly but first, we have to understand this game better. I know their physical condition and new players but we have to put something more. We had to fight more. Players know I have a lot of confidence in them and we hope to improve quickly.”

Transfer talk is swirling around the club, but he refused to hide behind the market or hint that the XI on the pitch were somehow inadequate.

On more signings, he was clear: “I don't want the excuse that the first XI was not enough to compete and get a result. Brentford's spirit on the pitch was great, it has to be the right example for us.”

The pattern of the game was painful in its simplicity. Brentford won duels, snapped into challenges and pressed with conviction. His team arrived late, lost 50-50s and never quite got to grips with the timing of their pressure, especially around Mikey Moore.

“We suffered physically but we knew that before the game. We were not ready to fight the duels. We made a lot of mistakes in the timing of the pressure with Mikey Moore. We arrived too many times late and we lost too many duels to compete with Brentford.”

Again, there was no attempt to dilute the message.

“I am sorry for the defeat. I know we have to improve in our physical condition, in the organisation. There were many new players but it was the first game. It's part of our journey. With a lot of new players, we knew we needed soul and style of play to become a team. Today I think there was the soul but we didn't fight in the right way.”

That word “soul” stood out. He believes in the character of the group, but character without structure and bite in the duels will not win many Premier League matches.

Asked why his players did not fight properly in those individual battles, he defended their nature but not their performance.

“I believe in my players. Especially in the first half, we were not in the right position to make the right pressure. If you analyse the game, you can see how many duels we lost in the first half when the game went in Brentford's direction.

“We didn't play well. We didn't fight in the right way. Not because we didn't remember the last season. Because these players are good people and with value and memory. But we lost too many duels.”

So does this early setback force a rethink of his selections? Not yet.

“The first XI should be able to compete normally if the game went in this way. I don't lose confidence in my players and these people. We have to work and improve, analyse the game better and find the improvement.”

The message from inside the dressing room is not to tear everything up after one bad afternoon. The work on the training ground has impressed him; the execution under pressure did not.

“We have to analyse this game. We cannot destroy everything because we are working well. Physical condition is not the same for all players because many started the season later.

“I don't want to make excuses but we need to keep improving. We need to find the right spirit to fight but today, it wasn't there. I expected better for sure. I didn't expect this result but I knew the problems we would find today.”

The diagnosis is clear: duels, fitness, organisation, pressing. The question now is how quickly this “new project” can turn stark words into a team that actually wins those battles when the whistle blows next weekend.