Above: Clare Wheeler for Everton. Photo: Emma Simpson for Impetus
By Alyce Collett
Everton boss Brian Sørensen admitted on Thursday that pitch conditions may have played a role in his opponent’s loss in the FA Cup.
Ahead of Friday’s game against Arsenal, Sørensen had both positive and negative news on the injury front.
He confirmed that Clare Wheeler is fit enough to start if need be (following injury), while Louna Ribadeira will be out for a while after developing a cyst in her foot. There is no timeline on the young Frenchwoman’s return.
Sørensen and his Toffees face an Arsenal side this week licking their wounds after a poor performance in the FA Cup last weekend against Everton’s crosstown rivals Liverpool.
“I think the conditions played a part in the way that they [Liverpool] exploited their weaknesses,” Sorenson explained. Speaking about Arsenal, the Everton boss asserted that “I think we’ve seen a couple of things that we can potentially hurt them on, but I generally think they have one of the best squads available, and then they are a team that works very well together”.
The Toffees’ boss highlighted Arsenal’s organisation: “You can see they are well coached, and even when Jonas was there, I thought they were very organised, and they still are so it’s going to be extremely tough for us. And I know it’s probably the worst time to play them, they want to bounce back quickly after a loss like that, but I know they also said it themselves, the circumstances they played under played into the way that that game went, they couldn’t really get any proper control and so on, but of course they have some weaknesses, we’ll try to explore it, but it’s going to be a really tough game.”
Sørensen’s opposite number for this weekend Renee Slegers described Everton as an “unpredictable” side, which the Toffees boss agreed with.
“If I should describe our team, I would say a bit of the same because that’s what we’re still try to do and strive to do” Sørensen said.
“But as I said many times, you need players to do that, and now we have it, so it’s probably a bit clearer from everyone, but from my side and the way I’ve been working with the staff, it’s been the same approach since basically I came in. With more players, better players, we can be much more dynamic, which we really want to be”.
There has been a resurgence from Everton since the new year, off the back of the Toffees finally being able to properly bring new players in during the January transfer window.
Although the Toffees are out of both Cup competitions, they are clear of relegation and Sørensen said that the position his side is in does give them a bit more freedom, noting that “It maybe settles the nerves a bit, in terms of worrying in about that battle with the others, in terms of who’s going to be relegated, when there’s still points available to pick up, and it’s reasonable for other teams to catch us”.
Sørensen highlighted what he believes is the key to Everton’s run of strong performances: developing relationships on pitch between new players and veterans. Sørensen praised the structure in place in the team, saying that “I think the structure we have is easy for them [new players] to understand”.
“But I also say all the ones who have been here for the last couple of years. They are five, six, seven and eight assistant coaches in terms of getting everyone drilled in fast. So yeah, credit to the to the players in terms of taking the new ones in and getting the messages onboard because then it’s easier for those one to understand.
“I think because we are like being so unpredictable and dynamic, it also takes a lot of practice, and it takes a lot from the players to take it on board.”
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