Thierry Henry blasts his players: The Arsenal legend and Monaco manager was highly critical of his players after loss to Reims.
Thierry Henry’s life as a manager hasn’t kickstarted as positively as he hoped for, as the Frenchman is without a win in four games. Last weekend, Henry’s side lost 1-0 to the newly-promoted Reims, and finds itself at 19th position in the league.
The former Arsenal legend gave a worrying assessment of his side’s performances, and hinted that the players don’t want to play.
Monaco sacked Leonardo Jardim in October, and replaced him with Henry. This is his first job as a manager in club football. Thierry Henry was previously the assistant manager to Belgium’s national team.
After the loss to the newly-promoted side Reims, his second in fourth game as the manager, Thierry Henry blasted his players, going to the extent of saying that the players don’t want to play.
Thierry Henry blasts his players:
In the post-match conference after the 1-0 loss to Reims, Thierry Henry was visibly angry and disappointed with Monaco’s performance. Henry questioned player’s motivation to play, and attacked his side for not being able to create opportunities.
“This defeat is more worrying than the previous ones because we did not know how to create in the game and we did not get an opportunity,” Henry said.
“Reims won basically all the duels. When we were at 11 vs 10, we really weren’t in the match at all. Then we get a red card of our own and penalise ourselves completely on our own.
This evening was not about tactics, it was about a lack of desire. If you don’t win any duels, then its difficult to win a football match.”
Henry sympathized with the fans and admitted that it is completely justified to be frustrated after watching such a performance. He also stated that the players ‘refused’ to perform.
“I understand our fans’ frustration. This is a delicate situation. When you enter the pitch and your players involuntarily refuse to play, it is difficult.
“We have to find our confidence again. I would not have come to Monaco if I did not think that there was quality in this team.”
What next?
The French side has a tough week ahead as they face Club Brugge in the Champions League group stage. Their position in the Champions League is far from inspiring, as the club has scored only 1 point, and is a massive 8 points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.
When they return to the league, they face the toughest test of all as Monaco travels to PSG, who are yet to drop points in Ligue 1.
