Submitted by content on Mon, 08/24/2020 - 06:56
AS Monaco manager Niko Kovac has said that his team will play with an aggressive mindset next season. The Croatian took over the managerial duties from Robert Moreno earlier this summer and he has the task of transforming the club into title challengers once more. That won’t be an easy job with the team’s struggles over the past couple of seasons, but Kovac is aiming to rectify the mess.
Speaking to reporters, Kovac said that his team will be on the lookout for goals next term, but they also need to sort out the defence. The Principality outfit leaked 44 goals from just 28 games last season and only three clubs had a defensive record poorer than them.
Speaking to L’Equipe, the former Bayern Munich boss said:
"I believe in a rule: the scorers win the matches, the defences win the titles. I saw that Monaco conceded 44 goals last season, not in 38 matches but in 28 matches. Reims [who finished sixth] allowed only 21. This is a key point that depends on all the players. We also want to play offensively, with aggression and speed."
Monaco were simply outstanding with their performances during the 2016/17 campaign where they won the title by scoring a staggering 107 goals. However, the following season saw the anticipated departure of a number of stars including Bernardo Silva and Kylian Mbappe, and that saw them drop off as they finished 13 points behind Paris Saint-Germain for the top spot.
However, they have since missed out on European football for two seasons on the bounce. The 2018/19 season saw an astonishing dip as they avoided the relegation play-off by just two points. Last season was much better as they finished ninth when the season was curtailed, but they were still 10 points adrift of the Champions League spots.