Crystal Palace: Leif Smerud on battle for WSL survival
For Smerud, a licensed clinical psychologist, having the right mindset is everything.
He describes himself as a “team person”, a “builder”, and a “very open” person with his players.
Ultimately, his goal is to bring the team together to understand the best way they can attack the opposition to get results.
“If you want to build, you have to challenge yourself and create a game that tries to hunt and be brave,” he said.
“You can’t be naive, you have to be pushing and developing. I want us to hunt balls, hunt goals and hunt to develop into a unit.
“I don’t like seeing my team exit, so we’ll keep working and stay flexible – a hunting unit that doesn’t exit.”
Outside, Smerud saw the team’s struggle in what he called “hard seasons.”
The Palace is always expected to be at the bottom after receiving promotions to the Women’s Championship in 2024, but Smerud wants to change his mind.
“In a lot of games, it’s already close. They could have won their wins, but when you’re often on the losing side, it’s really heavy.”
“This adds a kind of pressure, so I think it’s time to come in and change some perspective and provide a clear way of doing things, hoping to bring some direction.
“I want to remove the fear that will sneak in. People think about survival, but let’s think about fighting.”
