FCBARCELONA.CAT

28.08.2007 15:56

Henry: “We’re the first ones to be disappointed”

Berta Brau

Clear and sincere. Those are the two words that best describe Thierry Henry’s press conference after training on Tuesday. Referring to Sunday’s draw against Racing, he told reporters: “It can’t be put down to a lack of attitude or motivation”.

Speaking in an analytical and measured tone, the French striker began by emphasising that the players always try to win their games and denied that the result had been due to the wrong attitude on the part of the players: “Racing played well. They closed down at the back and waited for us. The intention was to win but we didn’t. Perhaps if we’d given just a bit more we would have won. But that’s part of the past now”.

Conclusions post Racing

However, Henry fully understands the disappointment felt by some fans. “The team was also disappointed about the way we played. It wasn’t the expected result. Everyone expected to win. Now it’s the manager’s job to see what didn’t work and find the best way between all of us to improve it”. Henry made it very clear that the team has the intention of winning on every occasion but also admitted that the team isn’t yet firing on all cylinders. “Obviously we’re asking the fans to be patient”.

Getting back to match fitness

Henry was also asked what it felt like to start the match on the subs bench and joked: “I thought the seats on the subs bench were very nice”. On a more serious note he revealed: “It’s true that I’m not very used to being a substitute but I’d like to remind you that I haven’t played for quite a long time and right now I’m trying to get fit by training hard. Whenever I play I try to bring as much as possible to my team. The person who decides who plays, and when, is the boss”.

He explained that he’s getting near to full match fitness and that now it was a question of working on more technical aspects: “I think I’ll be at a good level in three or four weeks’ time”.

Exaggeration

Henry believes that the label of the “fantastic four” is inappropriate: “It’s over the top because it’s only a game we’re trying to win. The only thing I want is for the team to play well and for people to speak about Barça in that context”. He doesn’t believe that players should be called “fantastic” or “heroes” though he admitted: “You can’t do anything to stop people saying it”.