New Motherwell manager Alfred Johansson has expressed confidence that the team can maintain the football they played under predecessor Jens Berthel Askou and build on last season's success. The Swede was officially unveiled at Fir Park on Tuesday, speaking to the media for the first time since his appointment.
Impressed with Squad in Early Training Sessions
Johansson, who previously managed Rosenborg in Norway, has been impressed with the squad in his first few training sessions. He is now looking ahead to the UEFA Conference League qualifiers against Havnar Boltfelag of the Faroe Islands next month. Motherwell finished fourth in the William Hill Premiership last season, impressing with a style of play that underpinned the club's recruitment of Johansson.
"That's the good thing with having a strategy as a club and trying to go in the same direction, regardless of who the manager is," the 35-year-old said. "I want intensity, I want tempo, I want to play out from the back, I want to be constructive in the way that we attack. We build attacks looking for advantages on an individual level, on a team level. And collectively we have to be strong units, when we press, when we have to sit a little bit deeper at times."
Foundation and Expectations
Johansson praised the foundation left by Askou, who spent 12 months at Fir Park before earning a move to Ligue 1 side Toulouse. "The foundation is great. It's a privilege to come to a well-run locker room, to a well-run training session," Johansson said. "The first real football session that we had, they ran the show by themselves in a really nice manner. So I would say that from myself, the expectation is that we'll be able to continue, we'll be able to consolidate the level. That's what we're looking to do and try to build as much as possible on top."
"I am Alfred and I obviously have my ideas, which will affect how the team is expressed on the pitch," he added.
Personal Commitment to Scotland
Johansson, who left Rosenborg last month, is aiming to immerse himself in life in Scotland. "I'm very narrow focused," he said. "I believe a lot that you have to be present and that's why I try to always have a really narrow focus. I just moved here a couple of days ago with a pregnant wife. I think that also tells the story that we want to be here. I'll have a Scottish baby. I come from a family where everyone is really close. For me, if my wife was not coming, I was not going to go. That she's here with me, it was a life decision for us. We feel really happy about it after coming here."
A Long-Standing Connection
Johansson's only other spell in Scotland was for a three-week assignment for a football coaching course in 2017. "It's a funny story now that I'm sat here," he said. "I was watching Motherwell against Rangers in a cup semi-final at Hampden Park and they won 2-0. I decided then that I'm going to go for Motherwell in the future!"
