Renée on getting the final details right

Renée Slegers was pleased to secure a late win in Sunday’s pre-season friendly match against Paris FC, but noted that there remains room for improvement in our game ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.

The head coach shared her initial thoughts on our 1-0 success, pointing out the importance of getting the details right in the final third more frequently.

“It's a win, which is positive, I think, because we control large parts of the game. I think it's about the final detail. There's a lot of really good things, but then it's about the final details. For the stage of pre-season we're in, I think that's natural.

“It also fuels us and inspires us to these last couple of days, weeks that we have before the competitive games start to get those details right. Then I think we're in a really good place. I'm happy we win the game in the end, because we dominate the game. I think Liv in in that moment shows some individual quality.”

Asked if we had a bit of joy by showing the courage to play the ball into small pockets of space through the middle of the pitch, Renée continued: “Yes, and you have to be smart with it and you have to be really good with it. But if you do it and you do it well, then you can open up a lot of things. So that's what we spoke about.

“It is mentally demanding to play a game like this. They were in a mid-low block. We had to create the whole game and that demands a lot from the players. It demands creativity, constant decision-making, constant connections. So yes, we're close, we're close.

So how is Renée feeling about our pre-season status now, after the La Manga training camp and with one game against Charlton Athletic still to go.

“I think how we planned our pre-season to happen, I think we're following the plan,” Renée said. “I think La Manga was very important for us to connect off the pitch as well, to understand who we are, what we represent, how we're going to connect with each other, how we understand each other, see the bigger picture. And since La Manga, it's been all about the football and the detail on the football.

“So I'm really happy we have two games left. And for us, it was important with a lot of new players in that we had as many games as possible to connect because that's the best way to develop. So, yes, I think from where we wanted to be, we are where we wanted to be. But like I just said, we want to get even better and get the final details right."

Sunday’s game also represented a nice opportunity to connect with our supporters again for the first time since last season, back in front of the Arsenal Women faithful in Meadow Park.

“Yes, that was a big inspiration, a big motivation for us ahead of the game as well,” Renée added. “We've missed it. I think the players, me included, we've missed it, to connect with them. And also a very special moment for the seven new players coming into the squad to get their first moment and to connect with the fans, introduce themselves. And also for Kyra, who's been away.”