“We’ve got to bold” says Becky Langley ahead of Wear-Tyne derby
Newcastle United Women’s Manager Becky Langley had made clear that her side must be “bold” ahead of their North East derby away at Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday. Newcastle were defeated late on by Durham Women last week, and have been told to use that hurt to fuel them in this next derby. Daniel Wales reports.
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00:00The prospect of facing Sunderland is not one that Becky Langley fears, even as manager of newly promoted Newcastle United.
00:08But she realises that the game will have an extra edge to it.
00:11There's always that conversation, isn't there, about it's just another game.
00:14For me, I don't buy that. I don't think it's just another game.
00:17I think it's a special game where you need incredible focus on what your process is and what your job role is individually.
00:25You should have that extra spark, you should have that extra excitement going into such a fixture that is important for our region.
00:32Playing at the Stadium of Light in front of a large crowd brings its own pressure and mental resilience will be required from her players.
00:39But ultimately, the process remains the same for Langley.
00:42I think we've got to be bold. Me as a manager sitting here, I don't know, people think maybe I'm young and naive and it is just another game.
00:51But we can't all be vanilla. We can't just come out with that. I think we have to have that extra bite about it.
00:57Our processes are the same for any fixture. We'll still look at what our dead ball press is going to look like,
01:04what our open play press will look like, what we're going to build, what our shape's going to be,
01:09how we're going to attack and defend set pieces. That will always stay the same.
01:12But I think we can have that extra energy going into this because it's a derby and we're proud people from the North East that want to do well in it.
01:20The loss at home to Durham was a bitter pill to swallow for Newcastle, but feeding off that will be needed in the game that is to come.
01:27Sunday was disappointing. Disappointing because we had so many chances in the game and, in my opinion, I was slightly biased.
01:36I thought we were the better team. But we weren't clinical enough and then we've made a couple of errors on the ball.
01:43At this level, you get punished and we got punished in those last few minutes of the game, which was obviously tough to take.
01:49But I think the mood in camp has been one that's been really positive. There's been a lot of learning from the game on Sunday.
01:56I think the girls recognised they performed well and the stats would suggest that.
02:00But at the same time, we're all disappointed to not have won another local derby that meant a lot to so many people involved as well.
02:09So that one stung, definitely. But at the same time, it's given us that extra fuel this week to ensure we're putting the wrongs right.
02:17All that was missing against Durham was the clinical edge, but Langley was willing to defend her players.
02:22It's the most important part of the game, finishing those opportunities, I guess. But as I said to the players, it's not on them.
02:29Yes, they'll individually review their own performance, but the results are on me.
02:34The results come from Claire and I's decisions. It comes from what we do on the training pitch.
02:40It comes from the team selection. It comes from the shape. It comes from everything.
02:44Subs we've made in the game, the timing of them, it's on us.
02:47So we want them to play freely, enjoy it, be creative, enjoy being a full-time footballer at this amazing football club.
02:55And if they're doing that, then the results will come. So yes, we're confident.