During his official presentation, Ronny Deila announced the color as to his tactical requirements. “My style of play is that we have to create, from the back, bring crosses into the box. We have to have pressing and counter-pressing.”
As the preparation progresses, the Standardmen assimilate the principles of the Norwegian coach. So far, the latter’s method seems to be unanimous in the Liège locker room, as Gilles Dewaele points out. “He made a good impression on everyone. I can only speak regarding the last six months, but I think that was the case before, the atmosphere at the club was not always very good but that is changing. Everyone is positive today. We all jumped on the train to go in the same direction and whoever deviates from the right path automatically steps back. I think the coach’s choice is the right one.”
Arrived from Kortrijk last winter, the right-back particularly likes the style of play advocated by Deila.
“I like his approach, the fact that he asks us to press forward a lot. He expects a lot from his full-backs. But the defensive task is paramount. The coach always asks us to be curious, it’s his word, that is to say to propose in an offensive situation and to be decisive.If we put high pressure on the opponent, we will recover the ball more easily to create opportunities with crosses on the flanks. It takes more effort than last season. Again, it’s my style of play, the manager can count on me 100%.”
The Standardman detects a difference compared to what was done under Luka Elsner. “Last season, we sometimes tried high pressing but we weren’t used to it; you have to train for that to perform well. The more you do it, the more automation will be present. His first training sessions were complicated because he directly brought tactics but everything will become natural as training progresses.”
