Renee Slegers has held her first pre-match press conference ahead of our Champions League fixture against Valerenga.

Alongside captain Kim Little, our interim coach answered questions about Jonas Eidevall’s departure, what her approach will be and team news ahead of the match.

Here is everything they had to say:

on the reaction to Jonas’ resignation:

RS: I spoke to him yesterday afternoon and was shocked by the news. I was very sad because he’s been a good leader for the staff. I’ve worked with him before in Sweden and we worked really well together. I’m very sad that it got to this point.

on the team’s reaction:

KL: We got made aware this morning in our team meeting before we went out to train. Like Renee said, a bit sad. Jonas has been our leader for the last four years and he’s made the choice to step away just now and we have a huge amount of respect for him. Now, as a group of players, as part of our leadership group, we have to get the players together. Obviously, it’s a big change but we need to move forward and change our focus to tomorrow’s game.

on whether there’s a greater pressure on managers now in the women’s game:

RS: I think especially coming to a big club like Arsenal, it’s definitely changed from where I come from. The Netherlands and Sweden, where I’ve worked before, I haven’t worked in England for so long but I’ve been following it from the outside. I think definitely it comes with a lot of positives. It’s very big now, it’s very alive, there’s a lot of fans and supporters, a lot of people involved and engaging, which is very positive, and then it comes with this as well.

on Renee’s approach to covering the head coach role:

RS: I feel when I got the question yesterday like if this is how we need to go forward, I’m happy to do it because I care about the team, I care about the players. I’ve been here for a year now. It’s a massive club so I’m happy to help.

on whether she’s interested in the full-time position:

RS: Right now I just focus on especially the next two games that are ahead of us. They’re both important games for us. Then the future, I’m not so concerned about.

on our team’s approach for the next two fixtures:

KL: The strength of what Jonas has left is that there are the foundations here. This incredible club has got everything in place for us to succeed, so we move forward with that and refocus and bring the group together leading into our second Champions League group game tomorrow, which is a really important one. We’ve gone through the taxing stuff today and we look forward to that, just bringing everyone together and refocusing. Ultimately, our job is to get out there and play as players and that’s what we need to focus on.

on whether Jonas’ departure was a mutual decision:

RS: It’s not up to me to talk about that. He just told me the story and how we felt about it and I felt a lot of respect for him because he’s been very resilient for a long time. He’s been working incredibly hard for a long time, so all I feel is respect for him.

on team news:

RS: So we have Lina Hurtig back in the squad, which is very positive. She’s been working hard for a long time to come back. Otherwise, no news.

on our team’s mindset after Jonas’ departure:

KL: Like I said earlier, after we were told the news this morning, we regrouped a little bit as a player group, just to keep everyone together, and said: “We have to refocus and move forward with these games” which are incredibly important. They’re coming to thick and fast enough just now. It’s hard enough to stay focused on that and then obviously there’s added change to that.

We just expressed, along with other leadership players, to refocus, take huge individual responsibility and also be as supportive as we can to our staff and Renee going into the interim manager role. That’s all we can do. Yes, it’s challenging, but there have been a few occasions in my career where this happened, because I’ve played a long time. I think the most important thing is us staying together and putting on a really good performance tomorrow night.

on a message to the supporters at this time:

KL: We spoke earlier about the growth in the game and there are always different changes and expectations. Obviously, we love our fans and they’ve grown in so many numbers over the last number of years, coming to support us at the Emirates, and we get an occasion to do that tomorrow. We’re incredibly grateful for them and we hope we can go out onto the pitch and put on a performance that they’re proud of and get us back to winning ways. I think that’s the most important thing.

on the spotlight on Arsenal specifically:

RS: It depends on how you look at it. I think it’s great how sport gets so big, especially how the women’s game has grown, and how it engages so many people in society, from all layers, from all types of people. So I think it’s very positive. And whether it comes with pressure? I think it does.

on the proximity of our Champions League fixture tomorrow: 

RS: We already had our eyes on this next game, which is going to be played tomorrow, and we stay there. The whole staff and players group have their eyes set on the game tomorrow. So it’s even more of a trigger for us to be in the moment, to be in the here and now and focus on the task that’s in front of us.

on whether Renee was prepared for this role:

RS: No, I was not prepared. I was totally 100% loyal to the work I was doing for Jonas and for the team, so that’s what I was focused on.

on who will take on the liaison role with the analysts on matchday…

RS: Well, this season, we changed it so it’s Aaron in contact with Mel on the bench, and that will stay the same. Obviously, there’s now a new free seat, so we’re going have a meeting this afternoon with the staff and organise ourselves.

on whether Renee is looking forward to being back in the dugout…

RS: I’m looking forward to fine-tuning these small margins, because I think it’s been about small margins, and that’s what I look forward to getting on the right side of it. So, putting in a couple of extra percentages, as a staff, as a players group, and then getting things over the line and turning things around, that’s what I look forward to.

on Lina Hurtig’s return to the squad…

RS: She’s a player with very strong, specific qualities, which definitely can contribute to us as a team, and obviously it means a lot for her individually, after a long period away from the pitch being back again, and they’ve been really careful, with a really good progression for her to come back. She’s been on the pitch for a while now, but we feel that the right moment is soon, now she’s ready.

on switching to our Champions League fixture on Wednesday…

RS: We have really, really good staff. We work really well together. A lot was already prepared behind the scenes. With players, everything stays the same for players, so we now have a task in front of us, and that’s what we’re going to focus on.

on players taking responsibility in difficult moments…

KL: I think including myself, there’s been several players who’ve been at this club a long time, which I think in times like this is incredibly helpful, because we’ve been a part of the club for so long. So, it’s, of course, a responsibility of mine and other leaders who’ve been at the club a long time and are in those roles to step up. But we always do that, day in, day out, and regardless of whether there’s change good or bad, we continue to lead in the same manner always. So, we will continue to do that.