For Smerud, a licensed clinical psychologist, having the right mentality is everything.
He describes himself as a “type of team”, “a builder” and someone who is “very open” with his players.
Ultimately, its objective is to unite the team to understand the best ways in which they can attack the opposition to obtain results.
“If you are going to build, then you must challenge yourself and create a game in which you try to hunt and be quite brave,” he said.
“You cannot be naive, you must push and develop. I want us to hunt the ball, hunt the goal and hunt development as a single unit.
“I do not like to see my teams to quit smoking, so we will continue working and be flexible, a hunting unit that does not give up.”
From the outside, Smerud has seen the team fight during what he describes as a “difficult season.”
Having won the promotion of the women’s championship in 2024, the palace was always expected to be at the bottom of the table, but Smerud hopes to change the perceptions.
“He has been close to enough games. They could have won them, but they did not and that is really mentally heavy when you end on the loser side often,” Smerud said.
“Add a type of pressure, so I think entering, changing a perspective and providing a clear way of doing things can bring some direction.
“I want to take away the fear that will sneak into. People think about surviving, but we think about fighting in their place.”
