836 This Season

It was silent in the locker room, and Twain stood among the group of players. He looked at each of them, and they stared back wordlessly. He was the backbone of this team.

"Do you really want to win?" Twain asked. It was a rhetorical question. He raised his hands in front of his chest and bowed his head to signal for everyone not to speak.

"Very well. From now on, forget all of what I just said! Forget those d*mn words like 'give up the league tournament' and 'go home and sleep.' Let's set up the tactics we'll use against Arsenal in the second half..."

"We're definitely going to win this game. A draw is unacceptable. We've given it our full effort, and we need to be rewarded. So, we don't have to consider defensive counterattacks..." Twain began writing on the board. He looked back to see everyone still standing and hurriedly waved for them to sit down.

"We'll base our defense off the last game. George, you have an important task. Freeze Fàbregas completely, leaving him too occupied to organize an attack. Arsenal relies on him to manage in the midfield. If he's ineffective, Arsenal's offensive threat will be decreased substantially. Don't wait, pounce on the first point. Fernando, you protect in the back."

Gago and Wood both nodded at the same time.

"Your task is not to intercept the ball, but to delay Arsenal. Slowing their pace down will buy some time for Wood's defense. Remember, when they want to pass the ball, let them pass. You don't have to run over. Guard the middle and leave the other positions to your teammates."

Then Twain drew two lines along the sidelines on the tactical board.

"It's going to be very demanding on the sidelines in the second half because not only do you have to attack, you also have to let go. The full backs have to assist with the offense and the wingers also have to defend. If the side midfielders are not active, then our defense will be in jeopardy. If the full backs do not assist in the offensive, then we can't win the game. You're the key to this game, guys."

This time it was Bale, Rafinha, Fernández, and Bentley who nodded.

Twain looked at Pepe and said, "Pepe?"

Pepe knew what Twain wanted to ask. He shook his head and said, "I'm all good, boss. You don't have to worry about me."

Twain pointed to him and smiled. "Toward the end of the first half, it was clear that Arsenal was focusing on your position. Now let's make a bet. Do you feel..." He winked. "...that Arsenal will still think so in the second half?"

Pepe guessed what the boss wanted. He asked, "Boss, you're saying they think Igor and I are going to fight in the locker room and continue to play abnormally in the second half?"

Twain wagged his finger and said, "I just think it's possible, and Arsenal can think it's possible. If I were Wenger, I would take everything into account. You had a big blowout with Igor in the first half. It looked like there was a vicious feud between you two." Seeing the look on the two men's faces, Twain chuckled.

The two parties in the conflict bowed their heads in embarrassment. Now that they had completely calmed down, they were really ashamed of their outburst in the first half. After all, it had been seen by tens of thousands of people and live television cameras. Who knew what went on in their minds at that moment, and what rang in their ears?

"I think Arsenal will try to break through from your position in the second half. If they find that nothing has changed from the first half, they will concentrate all their attacking firepower on you. If it were me, I would do the same. Twisting the knife is my favorite thing, after all." As he spoke, he mimed stabbing with a knife and twisting it. The muscles on the players' faces twitched as well.

Twain suddenly stopped talking and began to look around the room. The players around him were puzzled—what was the boss up to now?

"Tony, what are you doing?" Kerslake asked, unable to take the suspense.

"It's a shame." Twain shook his head and sighed, "The locker room in the Emirates Stadium is really clean. There is no dirt or dust at all… I wanted to slightly change your appearances," Twain said to Pepe and Akinfeev. "Your faces are too clean. It doesn't look like you're enemies who just tried to beat the pulp out of each other."

Some of the players caught the boss's drift and laughed.

Amid the laughter, Akinfeev looked embarrassed again, but Pepe was brave enough to throw caution to the wind and lift his head. "No problem, boss. Igor and I will continue to glare at each other. That'll do." Having said that, he demonstrated.

He stood beside Akinfeev, turning his head slightly to glare at the other man from the corners of his eyes. His nostrils flared, and the corners of his mouth tilted upwards, but it was not a smile. It showed contempt, disdain, and disgust. It was as if he really hated his teammate from the bottom of his heart.

Twain started clapping immediately. "You're a good actor. I recommend you go to Hollywood after you retire, Pepe!" Then he looked at Akinfeev.

"I can't act that well, boss. I can only avoid looking at him." Akinfeev turned his body around, putting his back to Pepe.

The two men's performance made the locker room laugh endlessly.

Twain snapped his fingers and the laughter subsided.

"While we're defending, the biggest headache won't be how sharp their attack is, but not knowing where they're going to come from." The defenders nodded in agreement. "Now that problem is solved." Twain pointed to Pepe, and there was another burst of laughter in the crowd. "At the start of the second half, you act a little clumsy. Don't worry, I won't shout at you from the sidelines, Pepe."

"Okay, boss," Pepe nodded. Twain was giving him a challenging job; he had to deliberately perform abnormally without making any fatal mistakes.

"Pepe can be a little bit clumsy, but you can't, Igor." Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

Akinfeev nodded hurriedly and said, "I know, boss. I'm the last line of defense."

Twain knew the Russian goalkeeper was smart, so he let the subject drop. He turned to the team now and said, "Don't think we can win easily just because we're baiting Arsenal's attack. Our opponents are living people, not bronze statues outside the stadium. They will adjust to our changes. Once they find out that Pepe is just a trap, they'll adapt immediately, or they'll beat us at our own game…"

"In truth, we won't have many opportunities to wrap this game up. Don't rush to counter press after successfully defending. And I repeat; I don't want to see you sending long shots ahead after you intercept the ball. Try to keep the ball on our side, and don't give possession back to Arsenal easily. If you lose the ball, then counter press. Don't rush back to defend. You have to remember that we don't have many chances to deceive Arsenal. Every time you take the ball, treat it like our only chance to attack!"

He put up his right index finger and said, "One goal! As long as we have a goal, we can break the deadlock on the field and mess up Arsenal's tactics. So, we have to take advantage of our one shot at the ball! This is an away game for us, everyone outside is our enemy! If we waste an opportunity, they will make us pay for it!"

"In terms of offense, you have to keep running. Don't be lazy and expect the ball to be sent right in front of your feet. Pull apart Arsenal's defense. Their full backs also like to assist. Take advantage of that to strike their flanks! Ibi, you've got to be a little bit tougher! Keep them occupied. That will also reduce the pressure on our defense."

After everyone knew what they had to do, Twain was silent for a moment. Kerslake looked at his watch. There was little time left in the halftime interval. The break had seemed extraordinarily short.

Twain was silent for a while before he continued. "I know that everyone is very tired. Honestly, I'm exhausted too. Everyone here is." He pointed to the coaches around him. "You're not the only ones fighting in the final stages. So are we. You are physically tired, and we are mentally tired. It's starting to drive us a little nuts."

Twain was repeating himself, trying to emphasize the feeling.

"But it's the 34th round of the league tournament now." Twain pointed his finger and said to his players, "Four more games to go before the end of the season... No, it's three and a half. We are six points behind Arsenal, a gap of two games. That means there are one and a half games left. If they win against us in this game, then there is a three-game gap. Even if we win all three of the last league games and Arsenal loses all of them, we still share the same points with them, but because we have fewer goals scored than them, we still won't win the title."

"I say this because I don't want you to feel like things are still under control. I want you to think, 'Damn it, this is bad! We are done for if we don't work hard!' Three and a half games! We can't afford a single mistake, just like life. Once you lose, you lose, and there's not another chance for a do-over. So now I'm actually grateful for the competition schedule!" Twain gnashed his teeth, his expression fierce. "It gives us a chance to take our destiny into our own hands, even if this is our last chance."

Twain raised his index finger, slightly trembling. It was a sign of the strain he was under.

"One last chance. If we can't grasp it, then we might as well give up. The three final rounds of the league tournament wouldn't matter; if we lose here, we aren't qualified to win the championship! We have no right to laugh at the losers, because we will be the biggest losers! So, for me, for you, for all of us, this season actually has... only forty-five minutes left. If we can't defeat Arsenal, we can't win the league title! If we lose to Arsenal here, then we still can't win against them in the Champions League game three days from now! It's how things are. If you have been tripped by the same stone, you will be tripped by that stone for the rest of your life. You can't surpass it. To you, that stone lying on the ground will be an insurmountable mountain! So, don't believe the nonsense that if we lose the league tournament, we still have the Champions League!"

Twain's face was flushed again. This time it was not from anger, but from excitement.

"How many times in your careers will you have this opportunity? The league title, the Champions League trophy, the FA Cup—we have three titles to fight for. We can win the 'treble' that tens of thousands of people admire! Twenty-two years since the establishment of the English Premier League, and only Manchester United has ever done it! We have a chance to be the second in twenty-two years, but it will be gone if we let it go here today! Who knows what's going to happen in the future? Who can guarantee that we can still win the treble next season? I can't guarantee it in any case." Twain spread his hands and added, "If such an opportunity isn't enough for our whole team to grit their teeth and fight..." He brandished his arms and roared, "Then what else is there in this world that is worth fighting for? What else?!"

The silently watching players looked ready to erupt. Balls of raging flame burned in their eyes. Some of them were so excited that their lips trembled, fists were brandished, and bodies shook. They could not wait to rush out now and fight Arsenal.

But Twain was not done talking. He hadn't fanned the fire enough!

"You're tired, I know! You're under a lot of pressure, I know that! But why are we tiring ourselves out and putting ourselves under pressure? It's all for the first treble to be achieved since 1999! If you're tired, grit your teeth and bear it! If you're feeling the pressure, straighten your back and bear it!" Twain bared his teeth and yelled as his knuckles turned white. "Hold up until May 23rd. At that time, we will have three championship trophies to prove that it is worth gritting our teeth and moving forward! We will not do useless work. There must be a return for every bit of hard work and perseverance we put in. We, Nottingham Forest ... are champions!"

"Champions!!" The players, unable to contain their excitement, finally roared out.

"On that day, everyone will Bow! Down! To! Us!!" Twain brandished his fists vigorously, as if he was going to smash a hole in the air.

The team followed suit and howled. The air in the entire locker room sizzled, leaving everyone excited and eager to find an outlet for the fire inside their hearts.

They had already overshot the halftime break. The staff came knocking on the door of the visiting team's locker room to remind the Forest team it was time to play. Arsenal had been waiting for them on the pitch for almost two minutes. Unhappy boos had broken out in the stands. The security guards were really worried that if the Forest team didn't come out soon, the fans in the Emirates Stadium would start to tear down the seats and smash the visitors' technical area.

But when a security guard knocked on the door, a group of people rushed out and nearly knocked him to the ground.

He staggered to one side to avoid the stampede and watched in amazement as the Nottingham Forest players, eyes dark and necks flushed with anger, rushed to the pitch.

Then he saw Tony Twain coming out last. Twain also saw him, and the two men exchanged looks. Twain smiled and walked to the field.