Reporter Lu Mi reports After 10 rounds of the Chinese Super League this season, the schedule has just passed 1/3, for the three towns of Wuhan, the first five rounds are "slipping", and the last five rounds are "rising", the contrast is quite obvious. In the first five games, the overall form of the three towns was sluggish, with unbelievable goals conceded and big losses, and the team only got one point, and the outside world thought they had booked a relegation place at this time. After Martins stepped down and Deng Zhuoxiang became the acting head coach, the three towns began to rebound, with 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, taking 10 points and leaving the relegation zone in the standings. The people are still the same, but the team seems to have changed. Three Towns will host defending champions Shanghai Port on 5 May and will be hoping to keep picking up points.

At the most dangerous moment, it was decided to change the coach

Wuhan Three Towns last season the team's survival problem was very serious, but the players worked hard, completed the relegation task ahead of schedule, and passed the access mark at the end of the year. This year, the team does not owe salaries, and the monthly salary is paid on time. But it was against the backdrop of security in place that the team suffered a rather bad start.

Martins, who was the manager of Three Towns at the time, was an attacking coach and may have been overly optimistic about the team's situation. When Martins first arrived at the team, he was faced with the fact that the first-team personnel had just completed a major change, the foreign players were in place at different times, the physical condition was uneven, and the run-in was not completed as quickly as expected. Three Towns started with two consecutive visitors, and in the case of uneven personnel, although the "game content" was good, the problem was also obvious, that is, the forward finishing ability was not enough, and the overall state of the team did not meet the best standards. Away losses to Rongcheng and West Coast, Wuhan Three Towns did not score a point in the first two rounds. Their first home game this season was against the Zhejiang team, and the Zhejiang team scored 4 goals in the first half, and the team lost the first three rounds in a row, which made many people realize that the three towns of Wuhan this season were "wrong".

As we all know, Wuhan Three Towns has a lot of personnel loss at the beginning of the season, but there are still Deng Hanwen, Liu Yiming, Park Zhizhu, Palacios, Zheng Kaimu, Wang Jinxian and other powerful players with rich experience in the Chinese Super League. The most devastating blow to the players was the game against Yatai and Meizhou Hakka, in the team analysis at the beginning of the season, these two teams were considered to be the same level as the Three Towns, and they were relegation opponents. The reporter interviewed some players, and they all said that the continuous losses during that period of time did affect their confidence, and their mentality was a little chaotic, and the lack of confidence made it impossible for everyone to play at their level, and the team continued to be in a relatively low state.

After those two consecutive away games with relegation opponents, Wuhan Three Towns will usher in two consecutive home games, the opponents are Yukun and Guoan, and if the home team loses again, the team may collapse. The Three Towns Club made a decisive decision to change the coach, hoping to improve the confidence of the players and seize the opportunity at home to stop the decline.

Martins became the first coach to leave the Chinese Super League, and Wuhan Three Towns also ushered in a turning point. Deng Zhuoxiang led the team as acting coach and had only three training sessions to go until the game against Yukun. As Deng Zhuoxiang said, time is not enough to make any leaps in the team's technical and tactical level, and the main change is to stimulate the fighting spirit of the players and change the mental outlook of the team. "The change in the squad may be related to the communication between the club leaders and the team, as well as the support from all sides, and the enthusiastic atmosphere of the fans on the scene today also stimulates the motivation of the players." After beating Yukun 3-1, Deng Zhuoxiang said.

won at home to Yunnan Yukun, a promoted team, and won the first win of the season; then tied Guoan after falling behind 1-4; Lost away to leaders Shanghai Shenhua, and the game process was also recognized; After facing the Jinmen Tigers and the Henan team, the three towns of Wuhan fell behind first, and finally reversed to win.

It took Deng Zhuoxiang five games to get the team back on track and prove his coaching ability.

I found the spirit of not admitting defeat

During the period under Deng Zhuoxiang's team, there have been some classic games, such as a 4-4 draw with Guoan, and a 2-1 reversal in the last two games.

"After the first five rounds, you are in the relegation zone, do you have confidence in Coach Deng to lead the team to turn the situation around?" The reporter asked several players the same question, including foreign aid and domestic players, and the answer was the same, "confidence". This kind of confidence, on the one hand, comes from everyone's understanding of his football resume and trust in the world, and on the other hand, because "Director Deng knows this team better, and I don't think our team is in that position in terms of strength." Wang Jinxian said. With his knowledge of the team, Deng Zhuoxiang knows how to use his players to get the most out of them.

Deng Zhuoxiang knows every player and knows the team very well, and he knows that in the case of consecutive losses, the most important thing is to save everyone's confidence. First of all, he stressed that everyone must be united and believe in themselves. Unite together, fight together for this club and for the city of Wuhan. Wang Jinxian said. Zhang Zhenyang, who scored a goal-equalizing goal in the match with Beijing Guoan, was more impressed by Deng Zhuoxiang in the locker room and asked everyone to communicate more and not be silent. After several training sessions, the players felt that Deng Zhuoxiang would think from the player's point of view, and the tactical arrangements formulated were relatively mature and easy for everyone to accept.

In the first five rounds, Three Towns did not perform well on the offensive end, and the two forwards were not less criticized, and were even considered by fans to be the lowest level of foreign aid in recent years. Foreign aid Tudolie did not score in the first four rounds of the game, and opened the goal account with a penalty kick in the fifth round, Deng Zhuoxiang let him stand closer to Sauer, after the run-in of training, he and Sauer formed a tacit understanding, and the two continued to form an effective cooperation on the offensive end, opening the goal and assist accounts respectively.

Tudolie has scored three goals in the last five games, while Sauer has two goals and four assists. Tuduolie said that he had indeed regained his form in recent times. Sauer said: "We always kept our rhythm and the coach was always trying to increase the attacking aggression of the team. Sauer stressed that in the situation where the score of the Three Towns is unfavorable, Deng Zhuoxiang will emphasize the confidence of the players, "He told us that we have the ability to complete the comeback. Secondly, he always adjusts the game strategy in time, asking the team to press more in the midfield and play more intensely at the right time. This clear directive, tailored to the situation of the game, allows us to have a more unified tactical execution and the confidence to turn the game around in the game. ”

Through the communication with the players, I can feel everyone's recognition of Deng Zhuoxiang, he has made this team regain resilience and the spirit of not admitting defeat, and the players can face every game, no matter who the opponent is, with confidence.

In the next round, against strong defending champions Shanghai Port, Deng Zhuoxiang and his disciples will not give up their efforts to score points.