“It’s nice to play a good opponent because we will be tested and being tested will make us better,” Elena Sadiku
Yesterday afternoon Elena Sadiku sat down to speak to the media, including of course The Celtic Star, ahead of the match against Glasgow City tomorrow afternoon at Airdrie’s Albert Bartlett Stadium…
SCOTTISH WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE
CELTIC FC WOMEN v GLASGOW CITY
Albert Bartlett Stadium, Airdrie. Sunday 18 August 2024. Tickets £10 (adults), £5 (under 16s), £13 (adult and u16). Purchase HERE. Kick-off: 4:10pm | Gates open: 3:30pm…see you there!
Q: What are the things you focused on in training this week in preparation for the game against Glasgow City?
Elena Sadiku: “We focused on a lot of things. We train to be prepared for the game. If [the press]is higher or lower, that’s something that we train on, no matter if we’re playing Dundee United, if we play Montrose. We always want to get better on how we play. So that’s something that we always train on. It’s not been really different for the game on Sunday.”
Q: Working under pressure, moving the ball around quickly, have you looked at those things ahead of the game?
Elena Sadiku: “I hope that we’ll play the same style of play that we always do. I don’t think we’re thinking that we’re going to lose the ball more or play differently, we always need to stick to what we should do and be confident in how we want to play. So that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
Q: Do you have an idea of how you expect City to set up?
Elena Sadiku: “I have some ideas but you never know. I have plan A, plan B, plan C, plan D maybe as well!”
Q: Has it been a hard decision to pick your starting eleven for Sunday?
Elena Sadiku: “Yeah. We had a game on Wednesday. Behind closed doors. Surprise surprise. And I think that no matter what I do, the players are always making the job very hard for me. I said to the girls, I had a mind of how I wanted to play on Sunday, and then we played on Wednesday, and you changed my mind again. So I said to them, try to take this training again to prove me wrong and that’s what they did. So I have a hard time, but this is the best job I can have when it’s like this. I’m very happy and pleased with how it looks right now.”
Q: Jenny Smith didn’t make a lot of starts for you last season but performed brilliantly in a different role against Dundee United.
Elena Sadiku: “I said to Jenny when I came, she played in that 10 position, but I said to her that I don’t see her as a 10, I see her strength on the wing-back position, and now you’ve seen how good she is there. We’ll keep track of what you saw on Sunday.”
Q: Any injury updates?
Elena Sadiku: “Hopefully you’ll see [Kit Loferski] soon enough. Amy Richardson is still [out], [Chloe Logan is still injured], yes, and Kit is still the same.”
Q: This is a big match so early in the season. Do you prefer to have these big matches earlier on to ‘get them out of the way’?
Elena Sadiku:“To get them out of the way’ is not something I would phrase it as, I would say that it’s nice to play a good opponent because we will get tested, and testing will make us better.”
Q: It helps that your squad are at high fitness right now.
Elena Sadiku: “Yeah. I feel that all the players are surprised at how much I can push them still because the season has started. For me, football players should always try to get better physically, tactically, individually, throughout the whole season. I’m not going to peak them now, the peak is going to be the whole season through. Where we’re at now, we’re going to get better even next month, next month, and the month after that. We’re still under season and I’m pushing them to get better.”
Q: It’s the return to the Excelsior Stadium this weekend, how are you feeling about that?
Elena Sadiku: “Very excited. Here [Celtic Park] is home because this is our 24/7 going around, but I feel the Excelsior is also home when it comes to the feeling of us playing there last season. It’s also going to be nice to have our fans back and I’m very happy that we have a lot of home games to start the season.”
Q: Was Glasgow City’s game last weekend one that you watched?
Elena Sadiku: “I watched some games, yes. Glasgow City was one of them.”
Q: What kind of challenge do you think this improved City side can offer?
Elena Sadiku: “That’s something that I’m excited to see. They have, pretty much, a new team. I told the girls today, I respect their history and the team that they have been in this league because they have been pushing towards and they’ve put themselves out on the map when it comes to Scottish football but for me, it’s about us telling our own story now and playing the way that we play, no matter who the opposition is. Hopefully, we can come out confident and play how we want to play against them but also respect that Glasgow City is Glasgow City.”
Q: And that big win at the weekend will give you and the squad confidence going into this game?
Elena Sadiku: “Yeah. Look at the pre-season, we’ve been playing really good teams and performing really well as well. I think that should give us enough confidence to go into this game as well. Dundee United tried their best and they did really well. The first 25 minutes, we couldn’t score against them. But that’s something that I can’t wait until this Sunday because that will give us a highlight of where we are at.
“Also, for me, if you look at the results, I think it’s a great thing what the league is doing right now [the restructure]. Because this league is too uneven, and we know that many in Europe know about it. So I can’t wait for this league to get even stronger for next season, because to be honest, winning 9-0, 11-0, 11-1, it’s not something that looks good for us to bring in new players because the league is so uneven.”
Q: Do you think the revamp of the SWPL will help to bring in new players?
Elena Sadiku: “100% yes.”
Q: When you say plan B, plan C, do you mean new formations or new ideas?
Elena Sadiku: “We always learn something new, depending on what players we play. It’s going to look different if I change a player to another one because they have different skills or different strengths that we need to adapt to, and I think that’s something that the players are doing really well right now because like I said, they’re giving me a headache. But the formation, it can change depending on who we play and what players I have available, yes.”
💬 “This is the best job I can have when it’s like this, so I’m very happy and pleased how it looks right now.”
Elena Sadiku has right kind of headache for Glasgow City challenge 🗞️#CELCIT | #CelticFC🍀
— Celtic FC Women (@CelticFCWomen) August 16, 2024
