In fact, Scarlett had been waiting for Ethan at the entrance of his apartment only to ask whether there was an opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview for the Manchester Evening News.
However, for some reason, every time she saw Ethan's annoying face, Scarlett could not help getting angry.
Although she eventually kicked Ethan in retaliation, she was reprimanded by her editor-in-chief the next day.
This added new grudges to old ones, causing her to blame everything on Ethan and deepening her resentment toward him.
However, hate was hate, and Scarlett was still a woman of her word.
At the very least, she did not treat New Manchester United as a target for attack this time.
In her report, she stated her opinion neutrally, believing that New Manchester United's chances of winning were almost nonexistent.
Yet inside New Manchester United, there was almost no discussion about this match.
Everyone seemed to treat it like any ordinary North West Counties League Division Two game, which was exactly what Ethan and Bruce had hoped to see.
Two days after the draw results were released, New Manchester United hosted their opponents at Butcher's Arms and secured a 5-1 victory, winning yet another North West Counties League Division Two match before setting off for the away game a day early.
Perhaps sensing the importance of this match to the team, the injured Makinson, Williams, and the others all expressed their wish to travel with the squad.
After consulting with Bruce, Ethan ultimately agreed to their request.
Since New Manchester United were only a semi-professional team in the tenth tier of English football, they naturally could not stay in five-star hotels like the giants visiting London.
They had to stay in a relatively quiet and comfortable small hotel and train at a university training ground.
New Manchester United's starting lineup for this match held no surprises.
The forwards were still Jonathan Matten and Rhodri Giggs.
This duo was the key to New Manchester United's goalscoring this season, especially Jonathan Matten, who had scored 32 goals in the league so far, making him the top scorer in the tenth tier.
Rhodri Giggs had also scored 21 goals.
As for the midfield, Frank Clark and Darren Lyons started on the left and right.
Due to the injuries to Makinson and Ben West, Bruce had to use a balanced formation, pairing Stephen Smith with Victor Moses, though their defensive ability was rather worrying.
Fortunately, Arsenal also usually used a double defensive midfielder system this season.
The centre-backs remained the pair of Steve Bruce and Gary Turner.
Their understanding was becoming increasingly natural, but since Bruce also had to balance his duties as the team's head coach, and given his age and inability to maintain his stamina throughout the entire season, Danny Collins had also made quite a few appearances this season.
On the right was Kevin Evans, and on the left was Evra.
These two full-backs were the only ones New Manchester United had available.
If one more of them were injured, they would be forced to play with a back three.
The goalkeeper was Robert Kane.
This young player had performed well this season and was one of the more consistent players for New Manchester United.
However, Droylsden had already clearly stated that they would promote Robert Kane to become their starting goalkeeper next season, so even if Ethan played the personal connection card with David Pace, it would be useless.
Due to the injury crisis and the shortage of personnel, New Manchester United's starting lineup had almost no suspense and had been repeatedly published in the newspapers before the match.
It was believed that if New Manchester United were not in the tenth tier and unfamiliar to the public, even the players' individual abilities and team tactics might have been laid bare.
This reminded Ethan of the later Real Madrid.
Because they received too much media attention, every move they made was scrutinized, and their tactics had almost no secrecy.
At the same time, it brought immense pressure on the players, which was also a major reason why Real Madrid failed in the Champions League for years.
"What's wrong? Didn't sleep well last night?"
In the hotel room, Walsh saw Ethan yawning repeatedly after getting up, a sharp contrast to his usual energetic self.
"Went to bed a bit late. David and Roy both called several times last night."
Ethan made up an excuse. In reality, the calls from Beckham and Keane had come around 9 PM, but Ethan had not fallen asleep until 2 AM.
He did not know why, but he had just lain in bed, tossing and turning, his mind filled with thoughts of tomorrow's match, unable to sleep.
This was New Manchester United's first match truly appearing on television, but their opponent was the formidable Arsenal.
This made Ethan worry whether his team would collapse completely.
"What? Do they really want us to take down Arsenal for them?"
Walsh asked with a smile.
Ethan smiled wryly. "Roy actually wants that. He said that if possible, we should let our players go all out, batter the Arsenal players, and take out two or three of their starters right after kick-off."
"Huh? Is he that ruthless?"
Walsh also laughed along. Anyone could tell it was a joke.
However, Ethan's imitation was vivid and lifelike, perfectly capturing Keane's manner.
"David and the others told us not to put too much psychological pressure on ourselves. After all, Arsenal are just too strong!"
When he said this, Ethan's smile froze.
Yes, everyone knew that for New Manchester United, Arsenal were like an insurmountable Mount Everest.
Even Ethan himself knew it, but when everyone said it, he found it hard to accept.
One should not be blindly arrogant, but one should not belittle oneself either, right?
"You're very unwilling to accept this, aren't you?"
Walsh knew Ethan very well and immediately saw through his thoughts.
Ethan nodded. "Yes, very unwilling. Even though I'm very clear about it in my head, in reality, I still feel unwilling. Especially as the match gets closer, this feeling grows stronger."
"Just a few days ago, I was still telling Bruce that we couldn't beat Arsenal."
"At that time, I felt I was very rational, so I viewed the issue clearly and logically."
"But now, I find that I can't judge it anymore. I just feel that I am fucking unwilling!"
By the end, Ethan was gritting his teeth.
"This is normal, because it proves you still have fighting spirit."
"You don't want to lose."
"Even when facing a match that everyone thinks we should lose, and lose thoroughly, you are still struggling."
"Even if you only have one last breath left, you are still struggling desperately, wanting to shout, I don't want to lose!"
Walsh also appeared very excited.
Although he was over thirty, in reality, he was still a fan with plenty of fighting spirit. Otherwise, he would not have supported Ethan until now.
"What do you think I should do?"
Ethan asked with a bitter smile.
Walsh walked over, sat down beside Ethan, patted his shoulder to comfort him, and said, "I think you should say it out loud."
"Tell the players your thoughts."
"At the very least, you should let them know that you, as the boss, have not given up on this match, even if it is a match everyone sees as a certain defeat."
Ethan looked at Walsh, then after a moment, smiled bitterly. "Andy, I really didn't realize you were such an eloquent persuader!"
Hearing this, Walsh immediately laughed along.
On the bus to Highbury, all the players were quiet.
Everyone had their heads lowered. Some were looking out the window, some had their eyes closed, and others were boredly fidgeting with their fingers.
Not a single person made a sound.
Bruce sat in the first row, with Cassel beside him, the latter serving as Bruce's part-time assistant.
Ethan hesitated for a moment, but eventually stood up.
The sound of his cough was like a thunderclap in the silent bus, waking everyone up, including Bruce.
Everyone looked at Ethan, who was walking into the bus aisle, clearly preparing to say something.
"Uh... a few days ago, the woman living upstairs from me, the female reporter from the Manchester Evening News who often reports on us, told me, 'Hey, hooligan, you're definitely going to lose against Arsenal!'"
At this point, Ethan laughed himself. "At the time, I didn't feel anything after hearing it."
"I just thought, ah, if we lose, we lose."
"Losing to Arsenal is nothing to be ashamed of."
"But I don't know why, last night, a few friends called me and said, 'Mate, don't put too much pressure on yourselves against Arsenal!'"
"So I kept thinking, it's as if everyone in the world thinks we are doomed to lose."
"Why?"
Ethan spread his hands and asked all the players in front of him.
Although Ethan was not the head coach and was very young, in reality, his prestige in this team was no lower than Bruce's.
Because this was not an ordinary team. It was also the team Ethan had founded by pouring in everything he had.
If this team were compared to a person, the head coach would be the brain, controlling their actions and movements, but Ethan was the heart of that person.
"Honestly, I am not willing to accept this."
"I am fucking not willing to accept this."
"I just don't understand, on what basis is it decided that we must lose?"
"Is it just because we are a tenth-tier team?"
"Or because Arsenal are a strong team?"
"But once you step onto the football pitch, do these things have anything to do with the outcome of the match?"
"A football match is a game played by 22 people."
"The result of the match is decided by those 22 people on the pitch."
"It has absolutely nothing to do with whether you are a giant, or whether you are a tenth-tier team or a Premier League powerhouse."
"So I asked myself, are you willing to accept this?"
Ethan became more and more emotional as he spoke.
"Tell me, guys, are you willing to accept it?"
It eventually turned into a challenge to the players.
Everyone raised their heads, staring at Ethan with red eyes.
"I am not willing to accept it!"
The injured Makinson was the first to stand up and yell.
"I'm not either!"
Evra shouted along.
"Me too!"
Lyons echoed.
In the end, all the players on the entire bus stood up, shouting, "Not willing to accept it!"
"Alright, if you aren't willing, then let's take our dignity back on the pitch and tell everyone: we are not the Little Red Devils, we are the Red Rebels!"
"We fear no opponent. Even if it's a Premier League powerhouse, we can still knock them down, because we, the Red Rebels, are fearless!"
Behind him, Bruce saw Ethan's forceful declaration and immediately laughed. "This kid is quite good at winning people over!"
(To be continued.)