Opinion: Slegers’ skills have suited interim role well

‘There are some small tweaks and some things we want to work on that we have discussed with the players this morning. But in general, we want to build on the foundations that is here and the players have been involved in identifying that foundation and who we want to be as Arsenal Women.’

These were the words of Arsenal Interim Boss Renee Slegers off the back of the October international break and ahead of the visit to Manchester United. Slegers took temporary charge of the team for the last two games of the October block and had little to no time to do anything other than focus on the absolute immediacy of games against West Ham and Valerenga.

The international break gave Slegers time to pause and she has made some small tactical tweaks. As an interim she has neither the time nor the authority to make sweeping changes and having worked with Jonas Eidevall in Sweden and having been brought to Arsenal by Eidevall, it is clear their footballing philosophies are aligned.

In her first post-match press conference after the Valerenga game, Slegers told Arseblog News, ‘I think we can have a look at how we defend the space behind the defensive line a little better.’ She has since brought Steph Catley into the starting line-up at centre-half to help with that and it has worked well to this point.

The job of interim manager vastly differs to being the permanent appointee and Slegers has been smart to recognise this. Her previous role saw her working with players on a one-on-one coaching basis, pulling up clips and going through them with individual players.

Jonas Eidevall explained to Arseblog News last season, in the wake of coaching hires like Renee, Kelly Smith and Lydia Bedford, that the benefits of having more female coaches includes the closer links they can forge with female players. Male coaches are not allowed in the changing rooms at training or at games for safeguarding reasons (this is why you often see post-match debriefs take place on the pitch in the WSL).

Eidevall explained that, from a logistical point of view, more coaching staff who can be present in that environment promotes more natural links between players and staff. It might also have been an acknowledgement on Eidevall’s part that his ability to relate to players might not have been his strongest suit (which isn’t a criticism, all of us have strengths and weaknesses).

In short, Slegers has transitioned from a role that relied heavily on coaching players on an individual basis and forming close professional bonds with them into a role where she was overseeing a group of players for whom confidence had clearly become a significant issue. From her utterances in press conferences so far, it seems Slegers has leant into that strength.

‘That is something we talk about with the players too, to live as much as possible in the here and now because that is what we can impact for them. The future is uncertain so let’s be in the here and now because that is what is going to help us…The players spoke a lot about accountability and I think it is easy to bring it in short moments but it is important now to do it for a long time and the next step is going to be doing that.’

This is what she said prior to the 2-0 victory at West Ham in October. She talked about what essentially looks like a player empowerment (and accountability) approach, which fits snugly into her previous role. But it’s also been a pretty smart short-term move to reconnect the players with their confidence again.

At 35, Slegers has recent playing experience in women’s football and she was a Dutch international, something Beth Mead cited as an important factor speaking prior to the 4-0 win at Juventus, ‘Renee was a player and she understands sometimes you have these kind of moments in your career. We sat down, we have worked on things on the pitch that I can improve on, I can work more on. Sometimes you need it in black and white.’

Slegers’ short term goal was to stabilise the team and the single biggest assignment was to boost player confidence. It sounds as though she has deliberately taken a step back towards the playing group but made it clear, in doing so, that the players bear responsibility and accountability too. When asked about Frida Maanum’s form this season by Sophie Downey from Girls on the Ball last night, Slegers’ answer again revealed how much her thinking is aligned to player development.

‘She is a very hard working player and a player that takes ownership of her own development and what she can contribute to the team. As a coaching staff we have a lot of discussions with Frida so I am really happy for her, you always wish the best for players who work really hard and take ownership of things, they deserve to be successful.’

In the short term, Slegers has been well suited to the interim task using the skills she was evidently employed by Eidevall and Arsenal for in the first place. Certainly in press conferences, her demeanour has been very calm. Her pre-match rituals do not seem to have changed, she still takes part in the player warm-up pre-game in the same way and consistently refers to her whole staff, keeping that stable connection to her previous role and not looking to set herself apart.

Long term, the next coach will have a little bit more blue sky thinking to do about a long-term playing philosophy, squad construction, culture and environment etc. (I am not suggesting Slegers could not do that too, just that her task as interim is a different project). But Arsenal needed to steady the ship and rebuild player confidence and Slegers has been well-placed for that assignment.