Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 148

148. Crisis in April

“Why?! Why?! Whyyyyy?!!”

The coach’s scream, realizing the situation, echoed, but the coaching staff and players gathered on the training ground were too preoccupied to pay attention to such trivial matters.

“Benjamin! Don’t move, just lie still!”

“Max! Are you okay?! Damn it, someone get a stretcher quickly!”

Team doctor Simon Morris, who had been waiting anxiously on the sidelines, arrived at the scene, panting heavily, with a sense of foreboding.

“Everyone back away! Paulo, check on Benjamin!”

“…I’m okay…”

Benjamin Sesko brushed off Paulo Morais’s hand as he checked his face, groaning in pain, but Simon Morris immediately scolded him.

“No one is okay until I say they are!”

Simon Morris, carefully examining the Ivory Coast national team winger who was clutching his knee in pain, clicked his tongue and gestured towards the sidelines.

“Get a stretcher!”

“Ah, damn it…!”

Max Cornet, who had been holding onto a glimmer of hope despite the piercing pain in his knee, cursed at the team doctor’s instructions.

He had felt something was wrong the moment they collided.

While regretting his sense that was so accurate only at times like this, staff members who had arrived, panting, following Simon Morris carefully loaded Max Cornet onto the stretcher.

“We’re going to the hospital right away. Paulo, take care of Benjamin and come along.”

“No, I told you I’m okay.”

“It’s your eye! You need a thorough examination!”

Benjamin Sesko, helped up by Paulo Morais, leaned on the coach’s arm and headed towards the tunnel.

“Uh… morning training is canceled. Everyone rest, have lunch, and then gather again in the afternoon for a tactical briefing.”

Carolina, glancing at the young coach despairing in one corner of the training ground, gave instructions to the team on Hyungmin’s behalf.

The day before facing Manchester United.

A minor tactical training session turned into a disaster.

Benjamin Sesko and Max Cornet collided while competing for a header in front of the goal, and Max Cornet’s knee twisted slightly as he landed.

And as he fell, desperately reaching out to regain his balance, Benjamin Sesko’s eye was poked by Max Cornet’s fingertip.

If it hadn’t been a real situation, it would have been a scene from a cheap B-movie comedy, but no one on the training ground could laugh.

***

“How’s Max?”

Carolina asked Hyungmin, who had finished a call with Simon Morris, wearing a grim expression.

“His knee muscles are twisted. He’s out for more than a month.”

Taejin, who had been listening to the conversation with his arms crossed, leaning against the tactical board, unfolded his thick arms and silently moved the marker labeled Max Cornet to the injured list.

“What about Benjamin?”

“The hospital wants to do a more thorough examination, but it doesn’t seem like his cornea or anything is damaged. But he took a hard hit, so his focus might be off for about a week.”

It was better news than they had feared, but Benjamin Sesko was also out for a week.

As Taejin silently moved another marker, Carolina sighed.

“What a mess…”

Thanks to the desperate efforts of fitness coach Paulo Morais and team doctor Simon Morris, the Burnley’s injury list had remained blank, but in just three days, three names were added.

Moreover, a red card, which hadn’t occurred at all this season, was also added, meaning Nico Gonzalez would be suspended for the next three Premier League games.

There was also Guuga, who had accumulated 10 yellow cards this season and had been suspended twice due to warnings, but yellow cards for full-backs were unavoidable, so the club’s disciplinary action was different.

Of course, the cheerful young Brazilian full-back teased Nico Gonzalez, saying he had made a much better deal with the amount of fines per card.

However, with the game against Manchester United just around the corner, Hyungmin sighed deeply as four of the 22 first-team players were out.

“Looks like we’ll have to call up youth team players to fill the bench?”

Upon hearing the news that they wouldn’t even be able to fill the bench of nine players, which had been expanded due to the COVID-19 situation, all of Burnley’s coaching staff looked pale.

***

“Hoo…”

Three injured players and one suspended due to accumulated warnings.

With a total of four players out of the first team, he thought the situation couldn’t get any worse.

At least until Guuga walked out, supported by the medical staff.

“How is he?”

Hyungmin asked as fitness coach Paulo Morais, who had rushed out to Old Trafford stadium with team doctor Simon Morris, whose white hair had noticeably increased recently, approached.

“Muscle spasm. He can’t play today. He should rest for about a week, and it would be good to take a break from training too.”

The lion-maned Brazilian right-back, who had been tirelessly running up and down Burnley’s right sideline throughout the season, seemed to have broken down.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that the problem occurred before the game started.

As Hyungmin made a dizzying expression, confused between luck and misfortune, Carolina hurriedly approached Hyungmin with the starting lineup she had been preparing to submit to the referees.

“I’ll take Guuga out and put Charlie in.”

“Yeah, do that.”

As Carolina quickly revised the starting lineup and ran back to the referees, Hyungmin bit his lip slightly, looking at the disorganized Burnley players.

“Ah, this isn’t good…”

***

Burnley was defeated by Manchester United 3-0.

There were unavoidable aspects as holes appeared evenly from the front-line attack to the back-line defense, but this was already the fifth time Burnley had lost by a margin of three goals or more this season.

Excluding the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool in the FA Cup, they had suffered four losses by a three-goal margin in the Premier League alone.

In the 32 rounds of the Premier League, they had 20 wins, 4 draws, and 8 losses.

When the momentum rises, they blaze fiercely and defeat even strong opponents, but when problems arise, their performance deteriorates rapidly, leading to heavy defeats.

While showing the typical behavior of a team composed of promising and young players, the only fortunate thing is that the slump doesn’t last long.

Although the overall record was not bad, Hyungmin and the coaching staff’s faces were dark as they gathered in the meeting room the day after the game.

“Thursday is the away game against Sparta Prague… I think we need to think about how to set up the starting lineup.”

At Carolina’s words, everyone’s gaze turned to the status of the players on the tactical board as if promised.

Karim Adeyemi, Benjamin Sesko, Max Cornet, and even Guuga had their names on the injured list.

“Still, it’s fortunate that Nico’s suspension is for Premier League games, so he can play in the Europa League.”

Taejin said with a sigh.

“Since Nico still has two more games of suspension left… Nico’s starting in this game is fixed.”

At Carolina’s addition, Hyungmin was lost in thought for a moment.

Nico Gonzalez on the field also has the effect of simplifying Burnley’s tactical direction in some ways.

His defense and activity are decent, and his passing ability is one of the best in Burnley, but conversely, he is not the type to actively penetrate the opponent’s penalty box or engage in physical defense.

Therefore, the direction of the game changes depending on what combination is formed with Nico Gonzalez in the center.

“Is there any change in Sparta Prague?”

At Hyungmin’s question, Carolina, who had been analyzing Sparta Prague, shook her head.

“It’s the same as in the first half [of the season]. There were no major moves in the winter transfer market. It’s still a pattern of developing attacks from the flanks, centered around Adam Hlozek. Of course, that’s if they come out the same way in future games.”

Sparta Prague had already been faced twice in the Europa League group stage.

At the time, Burnley had an overwhelming record of 2 wins, but they had the experience of taking first place in the group stage and pushing Burnley to second place.

That’s how much the attack led by Adam Hlozek is a weapon that ordinary teams can’t help but fall victim to, even knowing it.

And Burnley’s two wins were honestly cases where they conceded the first goal and then scored two goals to come back, so if Sparta Prague succeeds in locking down their back door, it’s a headache.

It’s not like they have a sharp spear like Karim Adeyemi to forcibly break the opponent’s defense right now.

“Um… I think.”

Hyungmin, who had been agonizing for a long time, focused the attention of the coaching staff.

“I think we need to prioritize first.”

The coaching staff, who had been worrying about how to handle the remaining 9 games, looked at Hyungmin with slightly puzzled faces.

“Prioritize?”

Carolina asked, representing the coaches, and Hyungmin gestured to the large schedule hanging on one side of the meeting room.

“Right now, we have the Premier League and the Europa League left. But these two don’t have the same weight.”

A moment of silence flowed between the coaching staff.

Only two more games against Sparta Prague, who they had won completely with two wins in the first half, and they would be in the final.

Everyone flinched at the coach’s statement that he would give up the glory of potentially winning the Europa League.

“…Wouldn’t it be a shame?”

At Taejin’s question, Hyungmin nodded and then shook his head again.

“It would be a lie if I said it wouldn’t be a shame, but I don’t want to try to catch two rabbits and end up losing both. And right now, the Premier League is more important to us. I told the board in the first half [of the season].”

Becoming a club that advances to European competitions every season is better than a club that achieves good results in a specific season’s European competition and then falls.

Carolina and Paulo Morais, who remembered that conversation, nodded.

“So, let’s try to put together the best possible lineup we can in the Premier League, within the range that doesn’t damage our power.”

Now, instead of using players according to tactical choices, they have to devise tactics according to the availability of players.

At the coach’s words to face reality coldly, a moment of silence flowed, and Paulo Morais raised his hand first.

“Yes, Paulo.”

“Then Dwight shouldn’t go to the Europa League. He should rest at least for the semi-finals.”

“Ah…”

A sigh of regret flowed inside the meeting room.

This season, as Karim Adeyemi on the right suddenly exploded with potential, Dwight McNeil took on the role of backing up the attack without complaint.

As a result, the player’s own indicators have generally declined, and the amount of activity and fatigue per playing time has increased.

“There’s nothing particularly wrong, but it’s obvious that he’s very tired. Even the physical examination shows high fatigue. Since there’s not much left of the season, he says he can play every game until the end…”

“…Should we think it might be a bit dangerous?”

Hyungmin asked Paulo Morais, who trailed off.

“That’s also true, but basically, if he plays full-time in every game, he won’t be able to fully demonstrate his skills. In that case, it would be right to focus on the Premier League.”

“Um…”

Hyungmin sighed heavily.

This would mean that they would not be able to use three of the four wingers.

Should they abandon the 4-3-3 formation that was Burnley’s staple? As Hyungmin pondered, Carolina suddenly raised her head next to him.

“Do you remember what we talked about before?”

At Carolina’s question, Hyungmin looked puzzled.

“About what?”

“About Jamal.”

As Hyungmin searched his memory for a moment, Paulo Morais next to him quietly exclaimed.

“That story about pulling Jamal up to the winger position and using him there?!”

“Yes. Since the full-back position is empty right now, we can pull Jamal up to strengthen the attack.”

“But Guuga is out, so there’s a hole in the right defense too? There aren’t many full-back resources.”

As Taejin raised an objection next to him, Hyungmin, who had been quickly racking his brains, shook his head this time.

“Abdu can also play left-back, and Nathan can play right-back, so the situation isn’t that bad. Of course, we’ll have to give up a bit of attacking power, but the defensive power can offset that, so it should be okay.”

At Hyungmin’s words, Carolina got up and pushed the players’ markers on the tactical board to one side and began to place the markers one by one again.

“Okay, let’s decide on the fixed positions first.”

Jung Taejin as the center forward.

Jamal Lewis as the left winger.

Joe Gelhardt as the right winger.

Nico Gonzalez in one of the three midfield positions.

Nick Pope as the goalkeeper.

These five are definitely starting in the next game against Sparta Prague.

“And Charlie as the right-back.”

As Taejin pointed out, Carolina nodded and placed Charlie Taylor’s marker in the right-back position.

“Let’s put Niki in to block Adam Hlozek. As a defensive midfielder.”

Hyungmin, who had been constantly agonizing, chose to strengthen the defense by selecting Nicolas Seiwald from the midfield combination.

“Let’s put Nathan and Anel as the center backs, and Abdu will go out as the left-back.”

Everyone nodded at Taejin’s words.

Mika Marmol, who was recruited from Barcelona, is growing well, but it is still somewhat risky to entrust him with a key role in the defense on such a big stage.

On the other hand, Nathan Collins, who has grown steadily this season, has now reached a position where he can challenge the other three center backs.

Everyone agreed with the coach’s intention to give a rest to veteran defender and captain James Tarkowski and expect growth through big games by using Nathan Collins.

“Then the starting lineup is almost out.”

Three attackers, four defenders, and a goalkeeper and two midfielders.

With a total of 10 positions decided, only the last spot in midfield remained.

“We just need to decide between Luca and Sebastian.”

Hyungmin, who was not happy with the situation but was relieved that the starting lineup was being selected semi-automatically as the choices were limited, muttered with a relieved expression.