Press news in...

Good afternoon everyone from Coolknee. Philippe Clement set to join us at 1.30pm to preview tomorrow's clash against Portsmouth.
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*Vladan Kovacevic is out. Ante Crnac will play, plus Topic and Alves, tonight for the U21s*

PC: 'Too early to assess Vlad (for future games), but he is already feeling better. Kellen Fisher has trained today and is being assessed ahead of tomorrow.'

PC asked about his comments on Wednesday about players lacking fitness: 'Those are the tough decisions. We haven't trained much and friendly matches aren't at Championship level. That is on me. Maybe it wasn't the best decision but with Papa out, I wanted to make attacking changes. Ante needs more rhythm and game time. That is normal after 10/11 months out.'

PC again clarifying his comments in midweek about defensive players playing in attacking areas: 'It is not about profiles. It is about availability. Lucien and Darlin can play as wing backs.'

Clement asking about the sub of Wright to Field: 'We have a lot of players in a situation where they haven't played every three days because they are young and stepping up. I am super positive about Jacob and the evolution he is making, but we need to manage the moments when his battery is running low.'

Number 10 battle: 'You want to keep consistency and don't want to swap too many things. But when you win it's easier to keep things, or you need to try new things. This team needs consistency and that is clear. We want more consistency in the starting positions now.'

Praise for Mattsson: 'That is the interesting phase of this moment and this season - it is easy in pre-season when everyone is getting minutes and is happy. But now is when you see who steps up when there is more stress on. Pelle is really showing that. Jacob is also showing that. He is showing this personality for the future. Trying to take something out of this difficult moment, you see players stepping up and this will be gold for their future and the future of the club. They will need to have a good reaction in these moments. When I came in, there was a lot of negativity. That totally isn't the case now, but it is the time to step up.'

On mood: 'It's two games against two very good teams. We were in those games toe to toe. It could have been two draws and, if you have a lucky game, it could be a win. I saw Tonda after the game and he said we were the team that caused them the most problems after the game. I cannot ask for more from the boys and what they are giving.'

Portsmouth: 'They have surprised me. I had a memory of last season where it was a game with the ball in the air and not much football, we also didn't play a good game that day, but I've seen them play against Southampton, they were the better team on the ball. They clearly stepped up from last season with the level they are showing. They have good wingers and play well out of the back. It will be a hard game but we want to get the win over the line - that's the most important thing.'

Important to get a result?: 'It's both. Because if you have a bad performance, it is less likely you get a result. We know it won't be a free ride. We didn't win this home game last season and that was in a good moment.'

Fans: 'They were really good. I know there were frustrations after the game, but they were behind us. This is a special game. Delia will be back. The biggest thing I wish is to give Delia the three points. That would be the perfect thing for her in a tough moment. We need to be balanced with our emotions in our performance.'

PC: 'I can guide the team. I can help them. But during the 90 minutes, you need to let it go and it's not a Playstation. I see a team that wants to do everything for this team and this club to get results. It's about looking forwards, not backwards. It is a young team and a talented team, but there's a lot to learn. It hasn't been the start that anyone wanted. Including me, but I didn't go with the hype after pre-season. We need to focus on the performance and then the points will follow.'

*Kenny McLean not training with the group at the moment - so not available for selection this weekend.*

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That's it from Philippe at Colney.

Posted By: DrDublin on October 16th 2026 at 13:51:06

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