In the dressing room, the Nottingham Forest players were in a good mood because they equalized before half-time, and there were talks and jokes on the way back to the dressing room. Don saw the scene from the sidelines and raised an eyebrow at Walker. Walker knew that the feel-good boys were going to be out of luck.

Sure enough, when everyone entered the locker room and the door was closed by Walker, Don's face collapsed.

Everyone looked at the head coach's face, and the chatter gradually weakened until it all disappeared. The manager is in a bad mood, who dares to speak now?

"Does anyone remember the first thing I said to everyone here before this game?" Donn looked at the twelve players in the locker room, and no one said a word. Maybe they don't remember, maybe they know but can't figure out the manager's intentions and don't dare to say.

So Don began to roll out: "Mogan? ”

“…… Uh, I think it's defense, chief. Mogan hesitated for a moment, then replied in a very uncertain tone.

"Uh, I think it's the defensive ......," Donn mimicked the tone of the young centre-back's voice, "are you doubting your memory?" ”

"It's defense! Defend! That's right, it's defense! "Hearing Don say that, Wes. Mogan hurriedly replied loudly.

Don looked at Mogan and smiled crookedly, but it made Mogan's heart tremble, he felt that he had been used by the boss as a target to vent his dissatisfaction.

"Very good, Mogan-san, you can sit down." Don waved his hand.

Only then did Mogan realize that he had risen from the bench at some point, like a student answering a teacher's question in class.

Donn turned to look at the others, then spread his hands and repeated what he had said before the game: "Defense, guys, I want you to know the importance of defense!" We spent 10 minutes talking about how to defend against the opposition's attack and we were scored in 12 minutes. I know you want to say that there was an element of chance in that goal, but to concede a goal is to concede a goal, and I don't want to make any excuses. To be honest, we played a terrible first half and we should be thankful to be able to draw with Bolton. Ashley. Young did a great job, and so did Freddie. Donn looked at the two goal-scorers and nodded in affirmation. But that doesn't hide our problems. I admit I had my share of the blame for the poor first half, my tactical set-up was a failure to give the opposition a chance to score. You also have to reflect on your performance in the first half. ”

Donn then walked over to the tactics board and drew out the actual formation of Bolton and Forest during the game, which he had observed on his own. Bolton Wanderers is 4,312 and Nottingham Forest is 4,231.

'Rebrov did a great job in midfield, so I'll let you keep playing in that position.' Donn drew a circle in the middle of the three, then pulled an arrow out of the circle pointing to the middle circle. 'But in the second half you have to drop back a little bit and keep enough distance from Wood and don't get out of his protective zone.'

Rebrov nodded to indicate that he understood.

"And Gunelson, I'm sorry you have to come down for the second half and rest. I'll let Crouch replace you. You did a good job in the first half and supported him from behind Wood, but there were eleven men on the pitch and we needed to attack in the second half. Don stared at Gunnalson, trying to make his attitude look sincere. Being substituted at half-time is not a good thing.

Gounelson was a little reluctant, but he nodded anyway. George. Wood is indeed more prominent than him, and there is nothing wrong with Wood on the court.

Seeing Gunelson nod, Don erased his solid circle. Then the same symbol was added next to Eastwood, which was Pete. Crouch.

"Crouch, you use your height to play the ball for your teammates when you come on the pitch, and if you have the chance, you shoot yourself, anyway...... You choose what best suits the situation on the pitch and don't stick to what I want. Do you understand? ”

"I see, boss." Crouch said with a stiff face. It was his first time playing for Forest. If you play well, the future is guaranteed, but if you don't play well...... I am going to sink again in constant denial. He didn't want to go back to Aston Villa, it was a nightmare for him. He knows that Forest and Aston Villa have a loan and buy out contract, but the buyout depends on Forest's performance in this half season. Isn't now an opportunity to prove yourself to a new coach?

When Donn saw Crouch's expression, he felt that he was too serious, which was not good, and it would affect his performance on the court at that time. So he laughed and said, "Don't keep your face strained, Pete. Do you like to dance? ”

Crouch nodded vigorously, then wondered how the manager would know.

Ignoring Crouch's surprised gaze, Donn winked at him and said, "If you score, come and dance on the field!" It's like this...... and then he mimics the robot dance he remembered after Crouch's goal for the national team, not quite like it, not like a robot, but like a marionette. There was a burst of laughter in the locker room. The atmosphere that had been somewhat depressed just now because of Donn's criticism came alive again.

"Tony, are you a rusty robot?" Walker also took the opportunity to joke.

Don scratched his head embarrassedly: "Anything can be done, as long as you don't crush me to the ground again." Look, my buttons ......," he said to the players, tugging at the collar of his shirt.

This time there was a louder burst of laughter and whistles in the dressing room.

Don didn't interrupt the players' happy hour. He smiled and stood by and watched, waiting for everyone to finish laughing before making a quiet gesture. "Alright guys, let's move on. McPhail: You weren't outstanding enough in the first half, you should have been more active in the second half, where did your imagination go? Shake off those defenders with beautiful dribbles, don't be afraid to lose the ball, there is George when you lose the ball! ”

Donn pointed to Wood, who was sitting in the corner with a blank face, and there was another brief burst of laughter in the locker room.

"Hey, George. Did you hear that? Everybody's looking forward to you. So keep playing like that in the second half! "Don gave Wood the task by the way." Stop all the soccer balls that are going to pass you! ”

After talking about the individual arrangements of the players, Don began to talk about the overall tactics.

'It was equalised at the end of the first half. If I were Sam Allardyce, I would never let the team rest and would have looked for an opportunity to take the lead again at the start of the second half! So the defenders had to be on their toes for the first ten minutes of the second half, and Bolton would have pressed to attack. We recycle the formation and play counter-attacks. After 10 minutes, if Bolton don't score, they will definitely start trying to settle down and hope to keep that scoreline on the road and then come back to home next weekend to try to win, don't give them that chance! If they back down, we'll press it! Give them a fatal blow! ”

With that, Don clenched his fists and raised his voice. "Guys, I don't care if you came on a transfer last summer or just joined this month; It doesn't matter if you've been moved from youth to the first team or you've been in this team; I also don't care which team you've been on before, which manager you've played in, what accolades you've won, or nothing...... Anyway, now we're a team, we're training and playing together, and I'm going to let you know who I, Tony. What Donn's football is like! He said, pointing to his chest.

"There must be some of you who know what happened to Forest in the play-offs last season, so I can tell you. Tony. What is Donne's football! It's victory! I hate failure! Especially fail when you're close to success! I want you to always think only one thing when you're on the field – win! Tell yourselves: I'm going to win today! It's not the shitty thought of 'what if I lose'! ”

'Now we're in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup and we're just one step away from reaching the final! Just a month ago, who would have thought we would be where we are today? At that time, we were fourth from the bottom, and we had to be laughed at by the third-to-last Crystal Palace! We showed Palace how small they are! Now we're going to show Bolton the same thing! Take them out on our home turf! Don't give them a chance to turn the tables at home! It's ours, no one wants to rob it! ”

※※※ "Tony. What kind of person is Donne...... How to say it. "In the announcer's lounge, John . . . Mortenson was talking to the two across the street about Donn. "I can't define him, you can't tell what kind of person he is. In the past, those single definitions were completely wrong for him...... It's complicated. So if you ask me what kind of person he is, I can't answer that. I don't think Tang En himself can tell. Therefore, to understand what kind of person he is, you have to see for yourself......"

"Hey, John. Why do I think you're perfunctory? Gray dissatisfied.

Mortenson shrugged: "I can only say what I think of as Tony. What is Don like, he seems impulsive, unscrupulous, unscrupulous in order to achieve his ends, and he will repay his eyes...... But that doesn't necessarily match your assessment of him. There are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people. You can also use this phrase for Tony. Donn. ”

Martin. Taylor pondered for a moment before he spoke, "Andy, I think it's better to repeat what I said to you before the game - what kind of person Coach Donn is, we have to see for ourselves. ”

Mortensen agrees: "That's right. You have to watch for yourselves, the second half of the game ...... It would be a good opportunity. In my experience, Tony. Donne's team often starts after the break......"

(To be continued)