Adi Hütter: "A chance to get back on track against a good opponent" | OneFootball

Driven by the desire to lift their heads at home on the occasion of the reception of Aston Villa in the Champions League this Tuesday at the Stade Louis-II (6:45 p.m.), the Monegasque manager spoke to the media.

Show the best face of AS Monaco to get back to winning ways. This is the leitmotif of Adi Hütter, before the Champions League returns to the Stade Louis-II, with a visit from Aston Villa  Tuesday (kick-off 6:45 p.m.). It was therefore with a conquering state of mind that the Monegasque coach appeared before the press on the eve of this meeting. Extracts 🎙️

On the team’s poor form

Everyone can see that we are having difficulties at the moment, especially because of repeated individual mistakes. It is sometimes difficult to find an explanation for this, because it does not depend on our organization but rather on technical errors or simply big mistakes.

And then it does not only happen against the top teams, but also against Montpellier, where we were punished for our mistakes. It is obvious that we are in a difficult situation, but I am nevertheless happy with the team I have at my disposal. In any case, tomorrow we have the opportunity to get back on track against a very good opponent.

The squad at present

It is always better for a coach to have more players at his disposal, because it puts more competition in each position, as was the case at the beginning of the season. Some have returned from injury or illness, like Denis Zakaria, who will be back tomorrow, as well as Aleksandr Golovin who was ill, Christian Mawissa and Wilfried Singo. We will know more after today’s training, but it is certainly better when the squad is almost at full strength.

We are going to face a Premier League team that has been stable at the top of the table in recent seasons. And even if Arsenal were the better team this weekend, they managed to draw after being 2-0 down by scoring two great goals at the Emirates.

We will decide after the session who is fit to start tomorrow, because it is not always easy to come back from injury or illness. We want to be a good competitor for Aston Villa tomorrow, erase our individual mistakes and play with confidence to show our style of play. And we will see what happens.

On Aston Villa

As I said, this is a great opportunity for us to get the ball rolling again! We are going to face a Premier League team that has been stable at the top of the table in recent seasons. And even if Arsenal were the better team this weekend, they managed to draw after being 2-0 down by scoring two great goals at the Emirates. They also have a very good coach in Unai Emery, who has won the Europa League three times with Sevilla (2) and Villareal (1).

And then they have good players, whether it’s Martinez who is a fantastic goalkeeper, Rogers who is a great number 10, Duran and Watkins in attack, but also Youri Tielemans, the heartbeat of this team. We are very happy to play this match that can qualify us for the play-offs. But with this new formula, we must also pay attention to every goal that can make the difference in the standings. That’s why we must be totally focused to try to win this match tomorrow.

On the Villans’ ranking

I’m not surprised to see them so high, although we were probably expecting some different teams in the top 8 instead. For me it was obvious that they were going to qualify for the play-offs, because they show every weekend in the Premier League that they are very solid.

Je serais très inquiet si nous ne nous procurions pas d’occasions ou si nous n’avions tiré que deux fois au but contre Montpellier. Or nous avons eu 17 tirs en première mi-temps contre eux, ce qui est beaucoup ! C’est mon job de pousser l’équipe à se créer le plus d’opportunités, mais derrière nous devons marquer davantage, c’est évident.

Tomorrow will be a very important match for us, the last one at home in the Champions League. So we want to show that we are back, but also to prove to our fans that we want to fight on every play and get forward by showing our playing philosophy.

On Aleksandr Golovin

It’s not just Golo’ who is performing less than last season in terms of statistics, it’s the whole attacking line that is doing a little less well. It’s the same with Breel Embolo, Takumi Minamino and even Maghnes Akliouche who is scoring less than last year. In any case, as a coach, I would be very worried if we didn’t create any chances or if we only had two shots on goal against Montpellier.

But we had 17 shots in the first half against them, which is a lot! It’s my job to push the team to create as many chances as possible, but behind that we have to score more, that’s obvious. But I’m convinced that we can get out of this situation.

On the team’s performances

Everyone can see that we’re not in good form at the moment. Sometimes you lose a match 4-0 it hits you hard, which allows you to react immediately. But at the moment, we’re always been close to winning, and have the chances to win. At the start of the season it was the opposite, everything or almost everything seemed very simple and went well for us.

Nous voulons au contraire jouer de l’avant, et cela a plus de sens selon moi de ne pas trahir nos principes et de tout faire pour faire pour bien défendre, certes, mais aussi de jouer pour gagner, car c’est dans notre ADN !

Adi HütterSur l'approche d'Aston Villa

We are on a bad run, but I have never criticized my team, because I am here to protect my players. I take my responsibilities as a coach, to get us out of this situation. We will see at the end of the season where we will finish, because last season, it was pretty much the same scenario. What is certain in any case is that I believe in my squad!

Qualifying scenarios

We are not an Italian team that wants to manage a result and go for a draw. On the contrary, we want to play forward, and it makes more sense in my opinion not to betray our principles and to do everything to defend well, of course, but also to play to win, because it is in our DNA! This is our approach to football, even if it is obvious that a few minutes from the end, if we have the draw in hand, we will be satisfied.

The impact of the key players

Breel, Thilo, Denis, Golo’, Taki are leaders who can speak, because they are experienced players. Internally, we talk a lot among ourselves, and in this situation, everyone wants to help us find our true face.

But I also don’t want it to take over and for them to forget to focus on their performances. We have to do everything to show the best possible side of ourselves on the pitch, and I’m sure that’s what we’re going to do tomorrow.