Clear and sincere. Those are the two words that best describe Thierry Henry’s press conference after training on Tuesday. Referring to Sunday’s draw against Racing, he told reporters: “It can’t be put down to a lack of attitude or motivation”.
Speaking in an analytical and measured tone, the French striker began by emphasising that the
players always try to win their games and denied that the result had been due to the wrong attitude
on the part of the players: “Racing played well. They closed down at the back and waited for
us. The intention was to win but we didn’t. Perhaps if we’d given just a bit more we
would have won. But that’s part of the past now”.
Conclusions post Racing
However, Henry fully understands the disappointment felt by some fans.
“The team was also disappointed about the way we played. It wasn’t the expected result.
Everyone expected to win. Now it’s the manager’s job to see what didn’t work and
find the best way between all of us to improve it”. Henry made it very clear that the team
has the intention of winning on every occasion but also admitted that the team isn’t yet
firing on all cylinders. “Obviously we’re asking the fans to be patient”.
Getting back to match fitness
Henry was also asked what it felt like to start the match on the subs
bench and joked: “I thought the seats on the subs bench were very nice”. On a more
serious note he revealed: “It’s true that I’m not very used to being a substitute
but I’d like to remind you that I haven’t played for quite a long time and right now
I’m trying to get fit by training hard. Whenever I play I try to bring as much as possible to
my team. The person who decides who plays, and when, is the boss”.
He explained that he’s getting near to full match fitness and that now it was a
question of working on more technical aspects: “I think I’ll be at a good level in
three or four weeks’ time”.
Exaggeration
Henry believes that the label of the “fantastic four” is inappropriate:
“It’s over the top because it’s only a game we’re trying to win. The only
thing I want is for the team to play well and for people to speak about Barça in that
context”. He doesn’t believe that players should be called “fantastic” or
“heroes” though he admitted: “You can’t do anything to stop people saying
it”.
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Inter the opponent in the Gamper
Henry is very familiar with the Italian champions: “I played Inter many times and it’s
never an easy game. When you play an Italian team it’s always difficult”. He
doesn’t believe either team has got anything to prove on Wednesday. “I believe
we’ll see a good match and that it will be a good test for both of us”. However, he
emphasised that the players mustn’t take their eye of Sunday’s league clash with
Athletic: “There’s an important match on Sunday against Athletic Bilbao but though
it’s important to know where the points come from it’s also very important to have a
good game against Inter”.