Senne Lammens discusses how Manchester United can improve on difficult start to season
Lammens on how Manchester United can turn around their difficult start
Senne Lammens reflects on Manchester United's difficult start and the defeat to Como, saying the team must improve their starts, rediscover their fighting spirit and collective defending, and find a balance between calm possession and aggression. He insists the dressing room is united and describes his own rapid rise as a dream come true that motivates him to help the team recover.
- United are not in a situation where everything is bad; one good performance can turn the momentum and the home game this weekend is a chance to do that — In football one match can change momentum, so they must take the positives and learn from the defeat rather than only focus on the negatives
- The players cannot point fingers or deflect blame; everyone has to step up and solve the situation together — They share the same goal, and dwelling on regret is pointless, so they need to improve collectively as quickly as possible and produce a good performance
- United must fix their slow starts, with the first priority being to stay in the game and score first — Conceding in the first minute or two against strong away opponents disrupts the game plan and leaves them chasing the match
- United need to adapt and evolve their style rather than simply copy last season — Opponents will adjust to last season's approach, and the team also need to improve in possession while rediscovering last season's fight and collective defending
- The team need calmness in possession and ferocious pressing without the ball, finding the balance between aggression and control — They have improved on the ball this season but have lost some of the fighting mindset off it, and that line is difficult for players and the team to manage
- The dressing room is united and fully behind the coaching staff, so post-match frustration should not be read as division — The atmosphere in training and the dressing room is united even if outsiders cannot see it; players may say things emotionally after games, and the team must show that unity on the pitch
- He still sees joining United, playing at the World Cup and becoming No.1 for United and Belgium as a dream come true, and it motivates him to help the team out of its current situation — He knows how lucky he is and how far he has come, and he tries to stay level-headed and see the bigger picture in good and bad times
► Subscribe to Sky Sports News: http://bit.ly/SkySportsNewsSub ► Watch Sky Sports with NOW: https://bit.ly/NOWSkySportsYT Senne Lammens reflects on Manchester United's tough start to the season, how they can work together and improve and discusses his first year as Manchester United and Belgium's number one. 00:00 - Reaction to loss against Como and how team has come together 02:25 - How do the team rectify a slow start in games? 04:28 - How has the start of this season been challenging for the team? 06:45 - Why has the team lacked fight this season? 08:49 - Is the Manchester United team united? 09:41 - How has Lammens felt joining Manchester United and becoming Belgium's number one? SkySportsNews SkySports manchesterunited ► For the latest developments on this story: https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/topstories ► For the latest transfer news: https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/TransferCentre More from Sky Sports on YouTube: ► Sky Sports: http://bit.ly/SkySportsSub ► Sky Sports Boxing: http://bit.ly/SSBoxingSub ► Sky Sports Cricket: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSkyCricket ► Sky Sports Darts: https://bit.ly/SubSkySportsDarts ► Sky Sports Football: http://bit.ly/SSFootballSub ► Sky Sports F1: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSkyF1 ► Sky Sports Golf: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsGolf ► Sky Sports Premier League: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsPL ► Sky Sports Retro: http://bit.ly/SkySportsRetroSub ► Sky Sports WSL: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsWSL ► TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@skysportsnews ► X: https://x.com/SkySportsNews ► Website: https://www.skysports.com ► To enquire about licensing Sky Sports content, you can find out more here: https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/news/31754/11434270/license-sky-sports-footage
Transcript
Senna, thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us. Look, first of all, I appreciate it's probably been a difficult few days. If we just start off with Ko, I mean, from your point of view, just that evening, that game, how do you kind of reflect on that? >> Uh, yeah, of course, like everyone saw it was quite difficult. Um, yeah, you come up with a game with a game plan. We prepare the game the way we wanted to, and then just whatever. Yeah, sometimes when it's not going the best, it's very difficult to get out of it. Um, I mean, hats off to them as well. They were on it. They were they are a very good team. Going away there is always going to be a difficult one, no matter what situation you're in. So, um, yeah, it's it was a difficult one for us, but we also know that uh not everything's bad. It's just easy to look at it that way when things are not going the best, but kind of like try to look at the positives, take those with us, and then we also know that you only it only takes one game to kind of like turn it around a little bit of to try to get that momentum back in in winning games. So, that's probably where we're at in the at the moment, trying to uh learn from that game, but also know that we have another challenge and another opportunity this weekend at home as well with the fans behind us. So that's going to be a good opportunity for us to turn it around. >> What have you and the players spoken about since that game in terms of trying to garner up a reaction to that? >> Uh yeah, I mean we all know we can do better. I think it's uh it's easy to like point and to deflect and to look at all all the others, but I think just everyone has to step up and work together. we all have a yeah the same goal and the same the same mindset of uh trying to get out of it together. Um so that was a big one. Uh we all know we should have done we could have done better but uh it's [snorts] it's also in football you can't stay too long in that mindset and too long in looking or regretting how it it went. Uh so it's just as quickly as possible for us to try to try try to turn it around and try to come together as a team and work on those things to to get a good performance. And >> I appreciate that was one game but from your perspective um it has been a few games in a row where there has been slow starts for the team as a collective. How do you rectify that do you think? What do you think? appreciate some of it is you're playing some very good teams of course as well but how can you address that as a team especially you know when you're back at home this week and that crowd will be hoping to see you know reaction to the last few games. >> Uh yeah it's difficult uh if there was was an easy answer I think everyone I mean it wouldn't happen and everyone uh would would try it. I think it's just yeah it's sort of like getting in a habit or getting in a getting in a preparation where like you said when you when the game starts you have to be on it because you know if you're not playing against these teams away in those situation circumstances you're going to get um yeah things against you. So, uh, we have to learn from that as well fast cuz you can try to come up with plans and tactics, but if you get a goal against in the first or second minutes, it kind of like screws up a little bit your game plan and you're kind of chasing the game from then on. So, that's probably uh one of, if not not the biggest thing we need to work on right now is to keep oursel in the game and to to try and yeah, get that first goal oursel instead of uh being one n down straight away. So, uh yeah, I get people thinking like it's an easy fix or like why don't you just try harder or something like that? And trust me, we are trying harder uh every day and trying to come up with a solution. But sometimes when it's not going your way, it's just yeah, everything seems sort of like falls into place uh for the other team. Um, but like I said again, like you know how it is in football, you only need one performance to turn it around. And I think that's what we're like trying to aim for and what we're working really hard on right now. >> As you mentioned, it's very easy to have narratives or stories and headlines and, you know, something that's been targeted at the team as well. Look at the first six months. Last season, they played really well to this season. But it's obviously much more complicated than that. I just wonder from your perspective how challenging has the start been because there are different factors. You've had a different back four in front of you for example that hasn't remained consistent for a variety of reasons and also tactically the team have clearly tried to play slightly differently. So is it a mix of all of these factors rather than as easy as just saying they have more games they played well last season they're just not playing well this season? Um yeah, I mean it's it's easy to say last season everything kind of like I said the way it's going bad this season and everything's going like a bit against us. Last season I felt like playing wise maybe we play sometimes better this season but last season everything just clicked and went the right way for us. uh we struggled as a team together when when they pressed us but we didn't concede that many goals and then I think as a counter team a bit more last season we we did really well but you also know I think every everybody knew that we had to improve as well from that uh that teams were going to change the way they played against us so that's why we had to evolve this season and in the preseason we we tried to do some different things to get us in the best position to win games. Um I think yeah, we need a little bit more like you said last season the way we fought together even when it wasn't going the the best and uh just trying to fight as a team and defend as a team. I think that's probably something we need to try and get back to. Even when it's go when it's going not as well and everything's going a little bit maybe against us, we stuck together and we need to try to do at it again and think about how we did that last season. Um but yeah, it's easy to say like just play the same as last season because team al teams also adapt to it. Uh so we felt like we needed to change something and evolve and play better than that. Um but there were some good things last season that we might maybe forget a little bit that we need to try to get back to. Um so yeah, I can it's a bit of both to be honest. Yeah. and use the word fight. And Michael Carrick, I was in KOMO and in his post-match news conference, he basically talked about a lack of aggression, intensity, running forwards, running backwards. I know it's a very simple question, but you mentioned, you know, the fight that maybe you need to get back to. Appreciate it, simple question, but why do you think that hasn't been there? [sighs] >> Yeah. Uh, it's the same thing again. If I had an answer, it's quite an easy fix. But I I mean I get it. Like I see people talking about numbers and maybe stats and data. I'm not sure about that. But uh cuz every game is a little bit different. But um I think like I said with the ball we're trying to do a bit of different things, try to improve because last season we weren't always the best with the ball. Uh I think we have improved in in those sort of things. But maybe the mindset of take of having the ball and trying to play around has like kind of that mindset of when you don't have the ball and try to fight for it the way we did last season. Uh we need to kind of like get a bit of both. When we have the ball, being calm and steady and being um good with the ball and not like overly rushed and things, but then when we don't have the ball, we have to fight like like hell to get it back. And it is a fine line to be honest that aggressiv aggressivity uh when you don't have the ball and then when you have the ball you want that calmness that being able to play from the back and being able to play through the press. So I think it's just finding that that fine line uh in ourselves and as players we need to learn uh to get the best out of oursel in both situations. I think that's probably I mean if everyone knew how to do it would have been an easy thing but especially as a team like maybe some players do maybe some players is a bit more difficult. Um so yeah it's probably why we need to look also to oursel and try to find that that little bit of edge we need in the games when we don't have the ball and when we need to fight for it together. You talk about together, is this changing room united? Because we have heard from some of the players in the last week talking about different aspects of the club, but is this changing room all together? >> I think so. Yeah, for me personally, I think it is. I think um it's easy to see maybe like after the game when players are very frustrated and I get it. I'm very frustrated as well cuz we all really want to do better and we all want to win and work for each other. and then we might say sometimes things we don't really maybe mean or like fully explain what we mean. Um, but I feel like every day in training and in the dressing room, everyone's very united. Of course, the people at home can't see that. So, we need to also try to look like that when we are on the pitch in the weekend. Uh, but I can assure you that we're doing everything we can and we're all together uh behind the coach, as a staff, players, front office. So I think yeah, everyone knows of course they have to do better. Um but I don't think we we're not uh or I think we are united and we are trying to get better as a team and together. And just finally, S, I know this has been not the most pleasant interview in terms of not talking about a lot of positives, but if you don't mind, I do want to talk about yourself though in the last 12 months as a positive that on a personal level, you know, you joining United, you playing at a World Cup, you becoming the number one for Manchester United and for Belgium. I mean, I appreciate there's a lot of other things going on with the team at the moment, but on an individual level, what has the last 12 months been like for you and to see all of these not accolades, but achievements still so relatively young in your career? >> Yeah. No, it's like you said, it is quite difficult to have that perspective on it. Uh, I think I'm quite good at when things are going really really well, not going like overly positive with things and when things are going not how you want them, also staying quite uh >> yeah, in the middle >> steady and uh seeing the big picture. So, like you said, even when these aren't the best times, uh maybe I can still look at it and think the position I'm in now, a lot of people and players would be uh giving a lot to be in this position. So, I also know how lucky I am and how far I've come as well uh in the last 12 months like you said. So, for me, it's still a dream come true and still a dream to be in this position I'm in now. So, it kind of gives me also the energy to try and give the energy I have to to get out of the situation we're in right now a little bit. Um, but yeah, like I said, I'm very happy still where I am at the moment and very happy to be at this club. Uh, and try to get through it as a team and get better as a team and get better for myself as well. S, >> thank you so much for your time and good luck this weekend. >> Thank you.