Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel pledged to keep his conversations with Neymar behind closed doors on Sunday as he weighs up how best to deal with the combustible star.
Neymar, the world's most expensive player, was widely lampooned for his play-acting at the World Cup, but Tuchel refused to reveal if he would raise it with the Brazilian.
"I'm young -- well, not so young -- but I know when I speak about Neymar there's a lot of potential to every word that I say," said the 44-year-old German.
Thomas Tuchel on Neymar ?
— Team FA (@TeamFA) July 27, 2018
''Everyone at the club wants to help him feel good, as quickly as possible, forgetting what happened at the World Cup. He is a great player, a champion, knows how to deal with victories and defeats. We'll help him recover. '' pic.twitter.com/UKzg68Xwl5
"So the best thing when I speak to him about something that we do this in closed rooms."
Tuchel's arrival at PSG follows reports of discord between Neymar and fellow forwards Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani, as well as ex-coach Unai Emery.
Tuchel said he needed a close relationship with Neymar, whose difficult World Cup ended when Brazil were stunned by Belgium in the quarter-finals.
Thomas Tuchel has made it his mission to help his Brazilian players overcome their World Cup hurt and he has no doubt that 'champion' Neymar will bounce back at PSG this season pic.twitter.com/gtXtIxPTxY
— Goal (@goal) July 27, 2018
"I'm very sure that I have a connection with him and I'm very sure that I need to have a connection with these kinds of players," Tuchel said.
"He's an outstanding player. He knows how to handle big victories, he also knows how to handle defeats, because that's the way sport is.
"It's always a big challenge to bounce back and I will help him with that. (But) what I talk about with him, when I talk with him, it's a secret that I keep."
