SAMPAOLI: "I'M BRINGING A POSITIVE ATTITUDE TO MAKE SHORT-TERM CHANGES"

Jorge Sampaoli is back at Sevilla five years on from his last term as boss. On Saturday he will take to the dugout for the first time against Athletic Bilbao, but on Thursday he took to the pitch to face club media.

The Argentinian admits that he arrives "with good memories of when I was here last time and with the hope of being able to produce the same team mentality from back then. I come with a positive attitude in order to make short-term changes."

"Starting today there will be a different approach which we must work on with very little time. We will be looking at past performances and reviewing footage more so than actual work on the field."

"We will take a deeper look at the match on Wednesday which will allow us to gain an advantage over our opponents through good transitional play. If we can't develop this advantage for ourselves then we will surely suffer the consequences."

On the team's state of mind, he believes that "both football and life put you in these circumstances and you aren't always able to win. Today we have to all be united, from the president right down to the kit man, without reproach and knowing that this is the squad we have."

"We have to improve our form and have respect for the current approach and we must adapt quickly, because a maelstrom of negativity would only make things worse."

From here on we live in the present and the past was very good for three years, maybe not quite at the end, but throughout this new process we will have to find new ways of changing the narrative."

"There is a lack of public belief in the team and we have to rebuild that, so that we can make those outside the club believe again."

"Each player has to meet the high expectations of the club, the badge, and our new style of play. It was with this attitude that the previous system met so much success."

"We must all be united, because a maelstrom of negativity would only make things worse"

He has studied his new squad very carefully: "They are players who play with their feet a lot, who use slow build-up play with their passing in order to get into the opposition's half."

"Our idea is to have players already high up the pitch so that the ball reaches them, with the ability to hound another team's defence without allowing the counter, that is where you allow matches that descend into chaos and players get tired."

"We need to have a core idea that makes us more competitive, because currently when faced with a challenge, the team is prone to collapse."

He also spoke about the comparison with his first term as manager: "We built a team in my style with Monchi. There were no complaints because we built it from scratch and I enjoyed seeing the team the way I planned it."

"I'm coming back now after being in France, with a team that I now have to build with the squad I've been given. It would be wrong to try and immediately instil a style the team cannot achieve. We have to look for a different way to succeed."

With his return, he is breaking one of his maxims: "Since I left, I have always followed Sevilla because you always remember places that made you happy."

"Today people have reminded of the time I said that I wouldn't go back to somewhere I was happy so that I don't ruin my memories of the place."

"There is plenty to convince me that this can be changed, getting the most out of everyone at the club. We are getting to know the players today and we have to meet the needs of the fans."

"I come with the intention of giving the team the freedom to play football and make inroads into enemy territory, giving them the tools so that they can do it from anywhere on the pitch."

"I always said I wouldn't go back to somewhere I was happy, but there is plenty to convince me it is worth it"

He was also asked about some of his players, such as those in the back line: "Kike Salas and José Ángel have had a rough go of it during a period of bad form, with Marcão's injury and Nianzou not having played consistently."

"Gudelj had to play at centre-back with a lot of will and drive, but he didn't know the position very well. Sometimes drive isn't enough and you need people that know the role well, especially in defence. There's a need to work on our concentration which has to do with the mental side of the game."

As for the strikers up front, he says that "there are three different strikers. Dolberg is an aggresive player that gets involved and is a good presence at the front post."

"Rafa Mir finishes very well and normally goes to the back post, and En-Nesyri is full of movement and we have to help him understand his runs better. If they can develop a partnership, it's up to them to integrate to each other's styles."

"We have to explore the options which will allow us to better understand our players. We have to analyse what we're capable of and go deeper into that. We can't build anything in a day."

On his last few jobs, he says that "previously I almost always reach similar points totals. Sevilla, Santos, Atlético Mineiro, Marseille.... Now it's more complicated because it's a tough act to follow in our current situation."

"You never know, but in all the previous jobs I was there from the start of the season and here we come straight into playing ten games in the first month. Maybe I wouldn't come to another club like that."

"Here I know the people, Monchi, the President, the Vice-President and even the kit-men. I know the club. If it wasn't like this, maybe I'd wait until after the World Cup, but I'm here now."

He also spoke about those players who can carry the weight of the game, like Nasri in his first season: "They are decisive players, who in recent times have lost their sight for goal. If I give responsibility to Isco, Papu or Suso in the attacking third, things will start to happen."

"At the minute they've lost their way. I want them to rediscover their form, if they have that ability in the final third, to make the difference at that end of the pitch."

"We immediately get stuck into 10 games in the first month, but I know the people and I know the club"

Now we have game after game, without being able to train as much as we'd like: "We are focused on looking at and reviewing footage of past performances, to try and come up with the style we are looking for."

"We have to get to know the players' physical and mental attributes, because we already somewhat know them from our prior analysis. We have to see their potential in a different environment in which they are able to show their best form."

"There are ways we can develop our style and we have to work on being more aggressive structurally and at both ends of the pitch. I ask people not to live in the past."

I'm starting a new era and I want to focus on the here and now, earning respect for what we do from here on in. For me, this is an adventure that is going to challenge me and I have to be prepared."