Jocelyn Prêcheur: 'I only expect difficult games in this league'

Pleased with the points, but unsatisfied with the ‘content’ of the performance – Jocelyn Prêcheur’s standards remain as high as ever after London City Lionesses’ 1-0 win over Sheffield United on Saturday [2 November].

The Frenchman was full of praise for his team’s determination at Bramall Lane, citing the importance of contributions from every member of the squad in Sheffield.

Prêcheur spoke with Dan Pentland of WSL Full-Time shortly after the final whistle was blown. This is every word he said.

It’s a win on the road that keeps the momentum up – you must be really pleased this afternoon?

I would say the most important thing is the result. I’m happy that we succeeded and scored the goal that we needed to take the three points. But, like I said to the players, it was like we played two games today. Really, the first half we played was not satisfying – and that is what I was afraid of after three weeks without playing together and the international players being away in a different environment. We had only one training session yesterday to come back to our game project and, in the first half, we struggled too much.

Fortunately, during the half-time, we fixed many things. I also want to underline the quality of the players who came in Shen [Mengyu] and Millie [Miljana Ivanovic] made a huge difference when they came in and we played so much better in the second half. We returned to our foundation, had better possession, and controlled the ball well. We still have a lack of efficiency when we talk about scoring – because we had chances in the first-half that we didn’t take as well and we need to focus on that.

Yes, the result is positive, but the content was not satisfying. We have one week now to come back to our game project and recover to prepare for an important game against Birmingham City.

You mentioned that it has taken the players longer than you would like to get back up to speed after the international break, with this being a very new team, will this improve as they become more familiar with you and one-another?

Absolutely, the balance we have is fragile, even if we were able to win today. As you said, it’s a very new team and we have started from scratch for three months now because many players arrived at the start of August. When we play several games in a row, we can build some habits. When they go out to their national teams, you need time because it’s fragile and we need to keep going to build this team and learn my game project because it’s also completely new.

It's not simple – having the ball is more difficult than defending and playing on the transition. That’s why, in my opinion, some teams prefer not to have the ball. However, that is clearly not what I want and that requires a higher level – whether that’s tactical, technical, or physical. There were many details where we were not at our best this afternoon and we played against a team who defended very, very well this afternoon. We analysed Sheffield United a lot and they have often lost only by one goal this season. It’s very hard to score against them and today was more proof of that.

It was quite defensive from Sheffield United today, is that what you’re going to have to overcome if you’re going to win the league?

But this is why this league is so interesting. For me, there are only good teams. This is why the league is so exciting. Everyone can win any match and I only expect difficult games. The quality of the tactical part of every team is so much better than what I had to face in France, especially for the second league. Every game is a mental, physical, and tactical challenge. The way that teams defend and attack is very structured and well-organised.

Where we have improved the most is our ability to suffer without the ball, while still preventing the other team from scoring. We can’t always control the play and I’m pleased with how adaptable we have been.

I expect only very difficult games in this league and we will see what will happen in the next one. We’ll keep working well. It’s true that we have very talented players but that won’t be enough. If we want to win promotion, we need to work hard and fast because we don’t have the stability of many of our rivals who have played together for a long time.

We can’t relax or slow down – and I’m sure that will be the case until the last minute of the last game in May.

Michele [Kang] has spoken about her mission to make London City a brand, how important is next week’s match, given that you probably need those big games to make an impact?

Absolutely. Firstly, you need to get the results to convince people to follow your team. You are full right, you need to give people a reason to follow your team and to build a fanbase. At the start of the season, I even said that we need to ‘seduce’ people to come on this journey with us. I like to play an attractive style, which hopefully helps us with this. Next week, we have another important game at home and we have a full week to prepare.

Your London City Lionesses return to Hayes Lane this Sunday [10 November], taking on Birmingham City in a top of the table clash. For tickets, click here.