Norwich City head coach David Wagner says his team must become the fittest, most energetic, and most aggressive team in the league.
At his formal unveiling to the press on Monday, Wagner answered questions about his style of play and the current squad in place.
“If you feel the pressure as one of the promotion contenders, and now you’re in 11th in the table, not everything will be feeling easy," he said.
“But, as I said when I walked through the door, leave the past in the past. To get the right information on board, but to make sure you are the fittest team in the league, the most energetic team in the league, the most aggressive team in the league.
“With every single battle that you win on the grass, your confidence will grow. This isn’t only by goals, or winning games, it can grow step by step and by every challenge that you win. This is exactly what we want to produce in training, and then in the games as well."
Wagner's reign began with a defeat against Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup third round on Sunday but he has pointed out positives that he can take from the performance.
“Obviously, goals and wins will help. First and foremost, you need to make sure you’re ready for every single battle and have got to perform at the very highest level. This is what we’re trying to implement into the squad, this is our training regime from day one," he explains.
“It needs a little bit of time, but what I can say, the players that I have met are very open minded. They really want to work, they really want to adapt to the new ideas.
“I think you could see against Blackburn, we defended much higher and we were able to win the ball back much higher up the pitch. There was a lot more energy on the grass, I felt we were able to pin the opponent in their own half, especially in the second half.
“Not everything was great, we didn’t create enough clear-cut chances, we had 20 corners and we didn’t score. There’s work to do, no shadow of a doubt, but I’m very confident we get this solved.”