Sami Hyypia
Image by: Paul Hazlewood
PUBLISHED
09:00 8th August 2014
by James Hilsum
You need to have the right people with a good mentality, so everybody can pull in the same direction."
Sami Hyypia
Sami Hyypia
Brighton & Hove Albion manager Sami Hyypia has praised the mentality of his players during pre-season, ahead of tomorrow’s opening game against Sheffield Wednesday at the Amex.
The Finn says his squad are buzzing ahead of the new season and he now hopes they can put their pre-season preparations into practice.He told seagulls.co.uk, “The players are feeling excited as the season gets going now. As a manager you wait for the games that really count and Saturday will the first one.
“I’ve been delighted that they have a good mentality, as that’s a very important part of a football team. You need to have the right people with a good mentality, so everybody can pull in the same direction.”
“I’m excited about it, but six weeks in pre-season is not a long time to get all your ideas into the minds of the players.
“I want them all to enjoy being on the ball. Defending is also a big part of success on the pitch and everybody has to do their defensive duties, as we have been working on this for the past six weeks.
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“We’ve been working hard to get these ideas into their heads and hopefully we are that stage when we can get a result on Saturday.”Hyypia says he has not focussed too much on the threats which Sheffield Wednesday may pose at the Amex and wants his players to focus on their performances.
“We have analysed Sheffield Wednesday and know that we have to be strong defensively and recognise the things we need to do offensively to hurt them, but in our preparations we have only concentrated on what we can do on the pitch.
“It’s important that we get the players in as soon as possible. In an ideal world I would like to have the squad complete before the first game, but we need to manage what we have here at the moment.
“We are working hard to get our targets in as soon as possible; I don’t know when that is going to be, but hopefully soon because the window is still open after our first six games.”
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Original article