Slegers taking it day-by-day as Arsenal’s interim head coach looks towards West Ham | OneFootball

Arsenal’s interim head coach Renée Slegers says that she is taking things day-by-day as she continues to fill the void left by former boss Jonas Eidevall’s departure earlier this week.

Slegers was placed into the interim head coach role on Tuesday. She guided Arsenal to a 4-1 UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage victory over Vålerenga a little over 24 hours later.

When speaking in an Arsenal press conference, Slegers admitted that she hasn’t had much time to reflect on the events of this week and says that she is focused on day-to-day tasks and preparing the team for this weekend’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at West Ham United.

“Not really yet, to be honest,” Slegers said when asked about having time to reflect. “I’m still just very focused on the task, there are a lot of things we need to get done. We need to be there for the players now in this time and we need to work hard as a staff.

“To be honest, my focus has just been on the task. The next one is tomorrow’s training and then the day after, it will be West Ham.”

The Dutch coach went on to discuss how her mindset is currently helping the team. She again reiterated the importance of being in the present.

She said “I like to be in the moment, that’s what’s needed, being in the here and now. We talk about that with the players as that’s what we can impact.”

Last season, West Ham United was one of the games that got away from Arsenal. The Gunners lost 2-1 at The Chigwell Construction Stadium and Slegers and her team know what to expect this weekend.

She said “I know the tough game we had away there last season. We’ve spoken about some things from the Vålerenga game and what we need to bring to West Ham on Sunday, so that’s definitely in our heads. Things like the conditions, the pitch, the opposition and we’ll be getting a tactical plan together. We played against them in pre-season in a training game as well.”

As the underdogs, West Ham United will not want to give Arsenal an inch and Slegers says that opening up the spaces will be hugely important.

She said “It’ll be [about] how we create space and moments to score the goals. Will it be against a low block or will there be other opportunities in the game where it’s a bit more open? That’s what we’re looking at, how we’re going to make use of the space on Sunday.”

Arsenal’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at West Ham United kicks-off at 3pm on Sunday afternoon.