Adi Hütter: "We will have to show a lot of seriousness against Le Havre"

On the eve of the fifth round of Ligue 1 against Le Havre (kick-off 3 p.m.), the Monaco coach spoke at a press conference with the firm intention of continuing the team's good form after beating Barcelona.

There’s no rest for AS Monaco. Only three days after a big win over Barça (2-1), the Rouge et Blanc are back at Stade Louis-II to welcome Le Havre (Sunday, 15:oo). A match in which they will have to show the same seriousness as they did against La Blaugrana to win. This is also the message that coach Adi Hütter expressed in his pre-match press conference. 🎙️ 

On playing again so soon after Europe

I don’t think about this, because it was the same situation before playing in Auxerre after the international break. A few days later, we knew we were going to play Barcelona. In the end, we played very seriously there, so I expect us to do the same this Sunday against Le Havre.

I am fully focused on this match which is very important to me. It will be totally different from Thursday’s, but we will be 100% ready for this new fixture. We will have to show a lot of seriousness.

We are a team, and it doesn’t matter who is decisive in the end, since there are different ways to score in a match, especially on set pieces. As a coach, it doesn’t matter to me who scores,

About the team’s forwards

I was very happy that George scored this first goal against Barcelona for our trio of forwards. But we are a team, and it doesn’t matter who is decisive in the end, since there are different ways to score in a match, especially on set pieces. As a coach, it doesn’t matter to me who scores, and I am sure that Folarin and Breel will again score important goals for the team.

About set pieces

I want to take this opportunity to highlight the work that is done by my assistants on these phases of play. We work a lot in this area, and this is reflected on the pitch, since we are scoring goals. It is my assistants who have this responsibility, and so congratulations to them.

The takers? We have several, as Caio Henrique can take with his left foot, as can Lamine Camara, who is strong in this regard, as is Aleksandr Golovin, who takes free kicks very well. Set pieces have accounted for around 30% of goals scored for many years, so we know they can be decisive. This is a very important area that needs to be worked on every day in training.

About the rotation

Obviously we will make changes compared to Barcelona, ​​it is necessary! The players have arrived at the Performance Center, and we will see what shape they are in. We will then be able to know who can start tomorrow.

That is the big difference with last season, we have eight more games to play, and it is a good opportunity to keep everyone involved and give everyone minutes of play. We have a very good squad, and everyone knows that they can earn their place, because nothing is set in stone. Every player is important.

Vanderson playing at left back

It was not an easy decision to make, because we have Caio Henrique and Kassoum Ouattara on the left, and even Christian Mawissa can play there. My idea was to be able to defend the flank on Lamine Yamal’s runs into the interior. Apart from the goal, where we could obviously have done better, I think we defended very well on him.

He is still a young player, who always wants to give his all and show the best version of himself. He needs playing time, and will probably very quickly have the spark that will make him score goals.

Vandi was also very valuable in his forward runs, and he was also at the origin of the goal by Maghnes Akliouche. He played a very good game, and in hindsight, it was a good solution. Maybe it was surprising for Barcelona, ​​but when you win, it’s because you were right (smiles). The idea was also to put Wilfried Singo in the team, because he provides an additional solution in the air on set pieces.

On Folarin Balogun

We are here, including me as coach, to give Folarin confidence. He is still a young player, who always wants to give his all and show the best version of himself. He needs playing time, and will probably very quickly have the spark that will make him score goals. We have very good attackers with George and Breel as well, and we must be behind them all to allow them to be completely free.

A word on George Ilenikhena

He is a very young player, very talented. He has only been 18 for a few weeks, and he scored against Barcelona in a crucial moment in the Champions League. Besides, it was not his first goal against this team, and he showed real talent for finishing. But again he is very young, and like all our young players we have to be careful to bring them in at the right time.

In training, he always wants to score, and obviously he wants to play. He is fresh, he is experiencing his first season here in Monaco, so it is a big step for him. He had already scored in pre-season against Feyenoord and Genoa. But again we have to be careful not to bring him along too quickly, but it’s positive that he wants to help the team and play.

Preparing for the Auxerre match was much easier in my opinion, because we had five days before going there to think about it. On the other hand, we didn’t have much time to train after Thursday’s match, because the match against Le Havre is coming up very quickly. We won’t have much time to work tactically, but I’m convinced that my players will be ready for this match. Especially since we analyzed this team well beforehand.