As soon as Twain entered the south locker room, he saw the huge oil painting. It was impossible not to see it. It took up almost half the wall and was too eye-catching.
He had no appreciation for art. In the face of such an oil painting, he could not say anything. But in the football stadium's locker room, it felt a little out of place.
Since this was the only place in the south locker room that was different from the north locker room, and someone had used it before, Twain might as well do it again today.
He took out a neatly folded red cloth from his backpack and unfolded it. A huge team flag appeared in front of everyone. Seeing such a huge team flag, someone in the locker room exclaimed in surprise, but the sound soon disappeared. Twain motioned to Crouch and Ward, the two tallest players in the team, to hang the oil painting. While the two men were busy, he explained to everyone, "Before me, there was a master who said that the wall was the source of all the curses. According to my field survey just now, I think he was right. Back then, the master suggested that the stadium hire someone to paint a huge oil painting to hide the bad atmosphere. It proved to be a success at first. But … the fengshui of this place is very bad! Very stubborn! If you want to change it, you have to tear down the entire stadium and rebuild it … "
Some of the players gasped. It looked like they believed Tang En's words without a shred of doubt.
"The master could only choose to use the oil painting to temporarily hide it. So today, we will use the team flag to hide the 'resentment' that has penetrated the oil painting! The Forest team's red team flag is our lucky flag. It can break the curse and bring us good luck! " Turning his head, he saw that the team flag had been hung high and stuck to the wall, just in time to block the oil painting. "Very good! Now, for us, there is no more 'curse of the south locker room'! You don't have to worry about being cursed. What you should worry about is our opponents, because we will defeat them! "
Standing under the huge team flag, Twain opened his arms and said loudly with confidence.
"The boss is right." Eastwood stood up. "When we set off from Nottingham the day before yesterday, my wife made a special divination, and the prophecy showed that we won the game!"
Tang En looked at his disciple. He turned his head to the team members and boasted about how strong his wife's divination ability was. Even the local councilors had to ask his wife about the results before the election. Tang En did not know whether the Romani was telling the truth or not, but he did want to thank him.
"Okay, guys!" Seeing that the matter was done, Assistant Coach Walker also spoke. "You guys should go warm up now. We've wasted enough time …"
Tang En corrected him. "It's the Northerners who have waited long enough."
The locker room erupted with the players' happy and relaxed laughter. Tang En knew that his plan had succeeded. Pretending to be mysterious could also help the team build confidence.
※ ※ ※
While the team went out to warm up, Tang En was busy at the tactical board in the locker room. Perhaps he still did not know that because they had alighted and warmed up later than their opponents, what happened in Nottingham Forest's locker room had already become the focus of many media and fans' attention. There was a rumor that began to circulate among the reporters — Manager Tony Twain had used the Eastern Feng Shui techniques he had learned in the locker room to help his team break the curse of the south locker room of the Millennium Stadium. If it succeeded, then his team and Middlesbrough would be on the same starting line!
This was a rumor that excited the media. If it was true, then Tang En would become the first manager to use such unnatural methods to help his team. If the Forest team did win in the end, would McClaren complain about his opponent's approach? If he did not complain, it would be fine. We can lead the topic in that direction in the post-match press conference …
If the Forest team did not win the championship, the reporters could then ask Tang En what he thought of his pretense before the game. If they did not win, then it was ineffective. If it was ineffective, then it was naturally a pretense. Then, they would ask him if it was right for him to spend too much effort on this and not on the team's tactics.
In short, no matter how the game turned out, no matter who won the championship, the media would have a topic to talk about.
There would be a good show to watch then!
※ ※ ※
When the Forest players returned from their warm-ups, they saw that Tony Twain had already taken off his "Taoist robe" and was wearing a dark red suit. They did not know where he had placed the compass. Both teams' starting lineups were drawn on the tactical board. On the wall facing them was a huge Nottingham Forest team flag. Everyone's towels were neatly placed in their respective positions.
It looked no different from a normal team's locker room. And they did not think about something like the "south locker room curse." They only had one thought in their minds — Middlesbrough, the finals, and the championship trophy!
Looking at the eyes of these people, Tang En was very satisfied with their mental state. These people's gazes were firm and not as erratic as they were two days ago. One look and it was obvious that they had a lot on their minds and were not in the mood to prepare for the game.
Now, his team had entered the best state, and he was smart enough not to mention the curse anymore.
After everyone was seated and the locker room gradually quietened down, Tang En opened his mouth.
"Guys, the crucial moment has arrived. This is the finals. I hope you understand that. It's not an insignificant pre-season friendly match, nor is it the next league match even if we lose this one. It's the EFL Cup finals that we'll have to wait another year for if we lose! Cheer up and repeat after me: This is the finals that will be broadcast live nationwide! "
"This is the finals that will be broadcast live nationwide!" At first, the voices were a little messy and not very orderly. Some were fast and some were slow, some were high and some were low. But soon, everyone was in sync.
"This is a good opportunity for me to make a name for myself!"
"This is a good opportunity for me to make a name for myself!"
"This is the perfect stage for everyone to see my prowess!"
"This is the perfect stage for everyone to see my prowess!"
Tang En waved his arms forcefully. His exaggerated and powerful body language was his trademark. The way he clenched his fists and smashed them into the void always made his team members feel an incomparably powerful force being smashed into their bodies along with the boss's movements.
"Let us step on Middlesbrough's corpse and go to Europe in the name of the EFL Cup champions!"
"In the name of the champions!"
After venting, Tang En looked at the impassioned players and smiled. "Does anyone think I'm talking about a joke that can't happen? Does anyone doubt that we can beat a Premier League team? Does anyone think that a super team is stronger than a First Division team? Does anyone think that we can't win? "
This time, no one hesitated. Everyone answered loudly at once, "No one!"
"Very good! Do you believe in me? Do you believe that I'll lead you to victory? "
"Yes!"
"Very good! I also believe in you. I believe that you can beat your opponents and win the championship! We are a team. We are one. I believe in you. You believe in me. We can beat all the opponents in front of us because they block our way forward. We've practiced our defense hard for a week. What is it for? Since you started to step into professional football and received training, you've sweated and cried every day. Even bled and got injured. What is it for? "
He turned around and erased the starting lineups of both teams on the tactical board. Then, he wrote the big word "CHAMPION" on it — champion.
"For the championship! Only the championship can repay us for everything we've put in. Only the championship can make us hungry and feel satisfied and happy. Apart from that … "He waved his hand forcefully and made a cutting motion. "… We don't accept any results!"
(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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