Matos on tactics, Klopp's influence, and taking Swans to top of the league

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Yet almost one year on, the Swans sit top of the Championship 10 games into the season.In retrospect, the hire appears to have been a masterstroke considering the fact that Matos had only managed 12 senior games before moving to Swansea - those coming in the Portuguese second division.Behind those 12 games, however, lives a coaching journey spanning 23 years across many continents and a variety of roles.Prior to his spell in charge of Maritimo, the 38-year-old spent five years working under Jurgen Klopp as an elite development coach at Liverpool, before joining Red Bull Salzburg as Pep Lijnders' number two.I called the Portuguese manager to explore his influences, principles and the ever-changing tactical landscape.Building a squad on a foundation of counter-pressing feels apt for Matos when you consider the time he spent working under Klopp."Liverpool influenced me a lot in terms of counter-pressing, pressing, intensity, and what makes you grow as a team," he said."The most important thing is how much you believe in your idea and this style is how I see football. Matos detailed his list of priorities when he replaced Alan Sheehan at Swansea."The most important thing was to make the team feel confident again, to make the players fall in love with playing with each other," he explained."For that, we wanted to take steps first on making the team much more aggressive without the ball."Giving them that boost of confidence by demanding a more aggressive game, creating a good feeling after a high regain or a wonderful tackle – it creates a better mood inside the group."He also opted to play a back four."Before I arrived there was also some change between a back four and a back five.

Only then does he know how best they can work within his system."How we solve problems depends on if we play against a man-marking team or a complete zonal team," said Matos."When you play against a complete zonal team, the most important thing is that you understand that you need to move them. With defenders following individual opponents, the free player can cease to exist altogether.To solve this problem, Matos has drawn on his time in China for answers."In China, I understood that to arrive at a more positional game, you could have different steps beforehand," he said."There is a benefit to having more players close to each other, rather than spreading them over space."If you spread them over space, you are demanding that, technically, they can solve many situations one-v-one.

You can create a tempo that allows other players to be better in the big spaces."It is unique style of play but these overloads have given Swansea extra solutions around the ball, helping disorganise both zonal and man-marking systems.Matos added: "Especially if you play with a midfielder outside, you can overload one side a little bit more. Only when you are yourself can you really add value to something," he said."The time with Jurgen was massive regarding that.