On September 6, the 16th round of the Chinese Super League is in full swing, Beijing Guoan will meet the challenge of Zhejiang at home in Rizhao. Before the match, the new head coach of Guoan team Stanley and player Zhang Yuning attended the press conference together.
Talking about the preparation, Stanley revealed, "I arrived in Beijing last Sunday and started leading the team in training on Sunday. This week we held a number of meetings and had in-depth conversations with many of the players. I won't be able to make too many changes to the team in the short term, but the key thing is for all the players to be united, which will help us get the job done. I have communicated numerous messages to the players during training this week and hopefully they have absorbed and digested them and look forward to us playing well tomorrow."
Zhang Yuning also said, "It's been a while since our last game, but we are recovering well and have welcomed a new coach to the team. We have shown good form in the last 3 games and hope to continue this performance tomorrow and welcome the new coach with a win, as well as injecting confidence into ourselves."
Reporter's question, "What changes do you think you've brought to the team in practice this week?" Stanley replied, "Being new to the team, if I bring too many new things, it will take time for the team to adapt, and the process is full of twists and turns, not overnight. For a week, I can't make too many changes to the team either, but I do try to improve the team as much as I can. The important thing is that the players and I need to understand each other and reach a consensus. Changing coaches in the middle of the season requires both sides to adapt and I believe we will do well."
The reporter continued the question, "While watching the reserve team train, did you find any good young players? Who could feature in the later games?" Stanley stated, "It's been a really eventful week, I did watch two reserve team practices and got to know most of the players in the team. It's certainly been a while since I've seen them and I need to watch them again to see what they can do."
The reporter asked again, "Do you feel that the standard of the reserve team players you have brought before has improved?" Stanley replied, "I've taken some young players, but it's been two years since I've seen them. I have heard that they have improved, but I need to observe them again."
Reporter's question, "How many young players in the squad currently fit your tactical requirements?" Stanley said, "I think it's vital to get young players on the pitch at the right time because it's about how they present themselves. When you put youngsters on the field they have to have enough confidence and that's where the timing is important. They need to be ready and we need to help them. It's not just my responsibility, it's the responsibility of the whole team. I can give you an example, in Europe, like Ajax, it's usually when the game is going well, for example when they're 4-0 up against the opponent, that they put the young players on the pitch. If the team is in a difficult situation, it may not be in their favor to switch to young players. Our whole team shares this view, so we need to wait until the team achieves good results, when it's a good time to give the young players a chance, provided of course that they are all ready."
Finally, a reporter asked Zhang Yuning, "What are your feelings about facing your hometown team tomorrow?" Zhang Yuning said, "First of all, I'm very happy to see Zhejiang finally return to the Chinese Super League stage after years of hibernation, congratulations to them. I've been following them, including from abroad. I hope both sides can give a great game tomorrow and we will take this opponent very seriously."
