There was silence in the locker room, and Donn stood in the middle of a group of players, looking at this, and at that. Everyone stared at him silently, he was the backbone of this team.

"You really don't want to lose?" Donn asked, but he didn't expect the men to answer, he raised his hands to his chest and lowered his head to signal for everyone not to speak.

"Good. From now on, you have all forgotten what I just said! Forget the damn 'give up the league' and 'wash and sleep'. Let's lay out the tactical ...... for the second half against Arsenal"

'We're definitely going to win this game, it's not going to be a draw. We have put in the physical effort, and we have to be rewarded. So we don't think about the defensive counterattack......" Donn wrote and drew on the tactics board, looked back and saw that everyone was still standing, and quickly waved them to sit down.

"Defensively, let's take a look at the last game, George, you have a lot of work to do. Freeze Cesc Fabregas completely, leaving him with no time to organise an attack. Arsenal rely on him to deploy in midfield, and if he is not effective, Arsenal's attacking threat is at least half weak. Don't wait, pounce on the first point. Fernando, you protect in the back. ”

Gage and Wood both nodded at the same time.

'Your task is not to cut off their ball, but to stall for time, to slow down Arsenal's tempo and buy time for Wood's return. Remember, they have to pass the ball, let them pass, you don't run with it, keep the middle and give the rest to your team-mates. ”

Donn then drew two lines on the side of the tactical board.

'The second half was very demanding on the wings because you not only need to attack but also to let go. Full-backs have to assist, and full-backs have to defend. If the full-backs don't defend aggressively, then our defence is in jeopardy. If the full-backs don't assist, we can't win this game. You guys are the key to this game, guys. ”

This time it was Bale, Raphinha, Fernandez and Bentley with their turn to nod.

Don looked at Pepe: "Pepe? ”

Pepe knew what he was going to ask, shook his head and said, "I'm okay head, don't worry about me." ”

Donn pointed at him and smiled: "At the end of the first half, it was clear that Arsenal were looking at you as a key place to break through. Now let's make a bet. You say......" he blinked, "...... Will Arsenal still think that way in the second half? ”

Pepe guessed what the boss wanted to do, and he asked: "Boss, are you saying they think Igor's fight and I will fight in the locker room and continue to play out of shape in the second half?" ”

Donn shook his finger: "I just think it's possible, and Arsenal think it's possible. If I were Arsene Wenger, I would take everything into account, and the conflict between you and Igor was so big in the first half that it seemed as if there was a grudge between you to kill your father and wife...... Hey. Seeing the two of them, Don laughed.

The two parties in the conflict bowed their heads in embarrassment. Now that they've completely calmed down, they are truly ashamed of themselves for going crazy in front of tens of thousands of live viewers and live TV cameras in the first half. Hell knows what was going on in their minds at that moment, and what was the sound hitting their eardrums.

'I think Arsenal will try to break through from you first in the second half and if they see that everything is the same as in the first half, they will focus all their attacking firepower on you. If I did, I would do the same, stabbing the wound again and rubbing it with salt is my favorite thing to do. As he said this, he made a stabbing motion and twisting the knife in his hand, and the muscles on the players' faces were twisted as well......

Donn's words suddenly stopped, and he looked around, and the people who were listening intently to the teachings were very strange—what was the boss pumping again?

"Tony, what are you doing?" Chrislak couldn't take it anymore and asked out loud.

"It's a shame." Donn shook his head and sighed, "The dressing room at the Emirates Stadium is so clean, there is neither dirt nor dust...... I wanted to dress you two up. Donn said to Pepe and Akinfeev, "Your faces are so clean now, you don't look like the enemies you just 'fought'. ”

Someone in the players was the first to react to what the head meant, and they burst into laughter.

In the midst of laughter, Akinfeev was embarrassed again, but Pepe had a kind of open-minded posture, and raised his head and said: "It's nothing, boss." Igor and I just kept squinting at each other. After that, he also made a special demonstration.

He stood next to Akinfeev, but he turned his head away, his head raised and his eyes squinted, the muscles on both sides of his nose bulging slightly, and the corners of his mouth raised, but it was not a smile, but contempt and disdain, and disgust. It was as if he really looked down on this teammate around him from the bottom of his heart.

Don watched from the sidelines and clapped. "The acting is so good, I recommend you to go to Hollywood after you retire, Pepe!" Then he looked at Akinfeev.

"I can't play that well, boss. I just had to stop looking at him. Akinfeev turned his back to Pepe.

The performance of the two people will amuse the laughter in the locker room.

Donn snapped his fingers, and his laughter thinned.

"When we're defending, the biggest headache is not how sharp the opponent's attack is, it's not knowing where they're going to come in." As he said this, the defenders nodded their heads in agreement. "Now the problem is solved." Donn pointed at Pepe, and the crowd burst into laughter. "You played a little clumsily at the beginning of the second half, don't worry I won't yell at you from the sidelines, Pepe."

"Yes, sir." Pepe took a sip. It was also a challenge for him to be able to deliberately act out of state without making fatal mistakes.

"Pepe can be clumsy, you can't, Igor."

Akinfeev nodded hurriedly: "I know, chief." I'm the last line of defense. ”

Don knew that this Russian goalkeeper was a smart man, so he didn't go on. He turned to the whole team: "Now Arsenal's main attack is clear, but don't think that we can win this way. Our opponents are real people, not bronze statues off the pitch or computer data, and they will adjust to our changes. As soon as they find out that Pepe is just a trap, they will immediately make a change, or they will do it...... So, there are actually very few opportunities left for us. I ask you not to rush the counterattack after a successful defense, and to ensure the success rate. I repeat: I don't want to see you break the ball and kick forward. Try to keep the ball on our side and don't give it back to Arsenal easily. If you lose the ball, don't rush back to the defense. Remember, we don't have many chances to deceive Arsenal, you have to take every chance to get the ball as if it were our only attack! A ball! He held up his right index finger and said, "With just one ball, we can break the deadlock on the pitch and disrupt Arsenal's tactics." So we have to take advantage of this one chance! It's away from home, everybody is our enemy on the outside, and we don't have the power to waste chances! Wasted opportunities are retribution! ”

"Offensively, you have to keep running, every opportunity comes in the running. Don't expect to stay lazy in front and the football will be delivered to you. Pull Arsenal's defence, their full-backs also like to assist, use that and play their wings! Ibi, you'll have to give me a little tougher! Leaving them to their own devices, it also takes the pressure off our defence. ”

After everyone understood what they had to do, Don was silent for a moment. Chris Rac was looking at his watch, with little time left at half-time. The intermission seemed unusually brief.

Tang En was silent for a while before continuing: "I know everyone has been tired lately, but in fact, I'm also tired, and everyone here is tired. He pointed to the coaches around him. It's not you players who are fighting in the sprint, we're too. You are tired in body, and we are tired in heart. Anyway, they're all tired, and they're going crazy with exhaustion. Don said a lot of "tired" in one breath, as if he was emphasizing this feeling.

"But it's the thirty-fourth round of the league." Donn snapped his fingers and said to his players, "There are four games left until the end of the season...... No, it's three and a half games. We are six points clear of Arsenal. Two games apart, then there is one and a half left. If they win against us in this game, then it's a three-game gap. Even if we win the last three league games and then Arsenal lose them all, we are level on points with them, but we still don't win the title because we have a smaller goal difference than them. ”

"I'm not telling you this to relieve your pressure, not to make you feel like you're still in control. I want you guys to know, 'Fuck, things just sucked this far!' If we don't work hard, we'll all have to play! 'Three and a half games! We don't even have a second chance to make mistakes, it's like life. If you lose, you lose, and there will be no chance for you to do it all over again. So now I'm thankful for the schedule! Don gritted his teeth and said "thanks" with a hideous face. "It gives us a chance to take our destiny into our own hands, even if it's the last chance."

Don raised his index finger, trembling slightly. That's a sign of over-exertion.

"The last chance, if we can't take it, we can really give up, even if there are three rounds left before the end of the league. We don't deserve to win the championship like this! There's no right to laugh at the losers, because we're the fucking biggest losers! So, for me, for you, for all of us, this season is actually ...... Forty-five minutes remaining. If we can't win against Arsenal, we can't win the league title! If we lose to Arsenal here, we won't be able to win the Champions Cup three days from now! The fact is that you tripped over the same stone, and you will trip over that stone for the rest of your life. You can't climb up, that stone is like an unreachable mountain for you lying on the ground! So don't believe the that we lost the league but we still have the Champions Cup! ”

Don's face flushed again, this time not angry, but excited.

"How many times have you had a chance like this season in your career? The league, the Champions Cup, the FA Cup, we have three titles to fight for. We can be the 'Triple Crown' admired by all people! In the 22 years since the creation of the Premier League, only one Manchester United has ever done it! We would have had the opportunity to do the second in these twenty-two years, but today we are here to let it go! What the future holds? Who can guarantee that we can still have a treble next season? I can't guarantee it anyway. Don spread his hands. If such an opportunity is not worth the gritting teeth of our whole team! He waved his arms vigorously and yelled. So what else in this world is worth fighting for? What else?! ”

The eyes of the players who had been watching him silently had changed, and clusters of scorching flames were burning in their eyes, and some even trembled with excitement, clenched their fists and trembled. They can't wait to rush on the pitch right now to go to Arsenal and fight hard.

But Don's words are not finished yet, this fire is not strong enough!

"You're tired, I know! You're stressed, and I know that! But why are you tired, why are you stressed? For this is the only triple crown winner in fifteen years since 1999! Tired, grit your teeth and hold me up! It's stressful, grit your teeth and hold me up! Don gritted his teeth, clenching his fists so that his knuckles turned white. Hold me up until the 23rd of May. When the time comes, let's use three championship trophies to prove that the previous gritted teeth persistence is worthwhile! We don't do useless work, and every time we pay and persevere, there will be a reward. Our Nottingham Forest ...... It's like a champion! ”

"Champion!!" The players, who couldn't contain their excitement, finally shouted along.

"Let everyone bow down on that day! Head! Call! Minister!! Don shook his fist hard, as if to smash the air out of the pit.

A crowd howled after him, and the air in the locker room made him hot, making his mouth dry, desperate to find an outlet for the raging fire in his heart.

※※※

The clock was long running out, and staff knocked on the door of the visitors' dressing room to remind Forest to come out of the game. Arsenal had been waiting for them for almost two minutes on the pitch, and there were already disgruntled boos from the stands. The security guards were worried that if Forest didn't come out, the fans at the Emirates Stadium would start tearing down chairs and smashing the visitors' dugout.

But when he knocked on the door, the crowd that rushed out nearly knocked him to the ground.

He staggered to the side and watched in amazement as the staring, red-eared, red-necked, red-eyed, red-necked, Nottingham Forest players rushed to the pitch.

Then he saw Tony, the last one coming out. Dawn. Don also saw him, and the two looked at each other, and Don walked to the court with a smile.

(To be continued)