Insel affe
HellBilly
Brighton & Hove Albion boss Sami Hyypia has told his players to go and express themselves on the pitch and leave the thinking to him ahead of Saturday’s trip to Norwich City.
Hyypia says he will take care of the mental side of the game and just wants his squad to focus on performing and showing their quality on the pitch.
He told seagulls.co.uk, “The players should leave the thinking to me, as I don’t want them to think much about the situation.
“The break has been very important mentally and physically. Most of the players are young and should be able to cope with the recovery, but the mental break is perhaps more important.
“At this time it is very good to have a few days off and for the players to do something totally different than football.
“If I had a few days off in the international break then it would be good for me to think of something else, but I’m constantly thinking of how I can do my job better to benefit the team.
“It is up to me to think about whether I could change my approach. The players should leave the thinking to me and have trust in their own skills and quality.”
The Albion boss is also taking little notice of Norwich’s current league form and has urged his side to be on top form defensively - as he feels they pose one of the Championship's biggest attacking threats.
“I cannot say why they haven’t won enough points to be top of the league, because I haven’t seen many of Norwich’s games.
“When you come down from the Premier League and are favourites to be top again, then teams probably have an added energy to do well against you.
“What I do know is the offensive side of their game is very good and they try to play with high tempo, creating a number of chances.
“Defensively we have to be on top of our game to play against them. It’s very important that we start the game well and gain confidence to dominate the game.
“We need to play with the kind of intensity that if we lose the ball, then we are aggressive to win it back straight away. That is very important.
“I’m a big believer in repetition. If you repeat an action many times then it becomes easier for you and you can be more relaxed in that situation when it comes to the game.”
Hyypia says he will take care of the mental side of the game and just wants his squad to focus on performing and showing their quality on the pitch.
He told seagulls.co.uk, “The players should leave the thinking to me, as I don’t want them to think much about the situation.
“The break has been very important mentally and physically. Most of the players are young and should be able to cope with the recovery, but the mental break is perhaps more important.
“At this time it is very good to have a few days off and for the players to do something totally different than football.
“If I had a few days off in the international break then it would be good for me to think of something else, but I’m constantly thinking of how I can do my job better to benefit the team.
“It is up to me to think about whether I could change my approach. The players should leave the thinking to me and have trust in their own skills and quality.”
The Albion boss is also taking little notice of Norwich’s current league form and has urged his side to be on top form defensively - as he feels they pose one of the Championship's biggest attacking threats.
“I cannot say why they haven’t won enough points to be top of the league, because I haven’t seen many of Norwich’s games.
“When you come down from the Premier League and are favourites to be top again, then teams probably have an added energy to do well against you.
“What I do know is the offensive side of their game is very good and they try to play with high tempo, creating a number of chances.
“Defensively we have to be on top of our game to play against them. It’s very important that we start the game well and gain confidence to dominate the game.
“We need to play with the kind of intensity that if we lose the ball, then we are aggressive to win it back straight away. That is very important.
“I’m a big believer in repetition. If you repeat an action many times then it becomes easier for you and you can be more relaxed in that situation when it comes to the game.”
