Poya Asbaghi spoke to the press ahead of our first fixture of 2022 - a trip to the City Ground on Monday afternoon.
ON NOTTINGHAM FOREST CHALLENGE
“We have played West Brom, who is a team that should compete for the Premier League, and now Blackburn away, who are the best form team in the league, and still I feel that, even though we didn’t win these games, in the middle of the second half against Blackburn, the game was about to be decided.
“We had a really good counter-attacking opportunity to go forward and score a goal. Instead, we lost the ball and they win – that’s football sometimes, but it also shows that we’re not miles away from competing for points against the toughest opponents.
“So, that’s a bit of an encouraging thought going into a game against Forest away, which we know is tough as well.”
ON CREATING CHANCES
“I think we created more chances against Blackburn than we did against West Brom. We were attacking in different ways, as well, so that we could create through outplaying their pressing as well from a counter-attack to score.
“If you can do this at a tough away game, then I’m confident that we can show this even more in other games as well. But it’s important for us to progress this about creating more chances; we were better offensively in our last game and we have to make sure that it doesn’t come at a cost where we lose the ball.”
ON RECENT FORM
“Of course, you want to win as a football coach, as a player and as a fan. The will of winning a football game is just as high for the players as it is the fans and me, but you know that you have to continue working hard and not wait for something to just happen.
“You have to make sure that you feel, as a coach, that you are preparing the team as good as possible. When you do that in the long run, the table doesn’t lie – it can lie from one game to another, but in the long run, you get what you deserve.
“That’s everything we can focus on; not to feel sorry for ourselves and letting the frustrations take over, instead to be 100% focused on the task.”
ON PLAYER MENTALITY
“The belief is there for sure. I watch the players react and, when you concede a 1-0 goal away against Blackburn, it’s a tough moment in a tough situation where we’re struggling in the game.
“But when they scored, I saw Romal Palmer running to bring the ball out of the back of the net and players directly after that applauding each other in situations where it’s really easy to give up or to look down or feel sorry for themselves.
“So, for me, it was good to see that they still have the hunger and the will – it’s about adjusting things in the defence and offense to win.”
