"Quiet!" I said, raising my voice. "Listen. This is my first match as your manager. Proper match, against another team. And it's coming fast, two days away. But I believe in you. I believe in the work we've done over the past seven weeks. I believe in the system we've built. Now it's time to prove it works."
Nya raised his hand. "Boss, what do we know about Millwall?"
"Not much yet," I admitted. "Sarah's going to analyze them today. But here's what I do know: they'll be physical. They'll be direct. They'll try to intimidate you. And if you execute what we've taught you the pressing triggers, the recovery runs, the transitions we'll beat them."
Connor leaned forward. "Are we ready?"
I looked at him, at all of them. "You tell me. Have you been working hard? Have you been buying into the system? Have you been trusting each other?"
"Yes, boss," they said, almost in unison.
"Then you're ready. Now let's get to work."
