Here are some of the topics he covered...
On Everton...
“I think they’ve had a really good last three or four games, a good result in the cup the other day, good results against Chelsea and Manchester United… it’s been a busy period for them but I know Everton as a club, I know Scott (Phelan) and Phil (Jevons) really well – the coaches – and I’m not surprised they’re doing really well. They’re two really good coaches, a really good group, they have the players really organised and efficient, they have a lot of talented players within that team and it’s no surprise to me that they’re doing well because they have good people around them.”
On our hectic schedule of games...
“It is what it is – busy, congested but the players will probably enjoy it because as I’ve said before, they enjoy playing games, it gives them an opportunity, it’s the part they enjoy, we just have to make sure we help them refresh and recover, give them the information they need, get on the pitch where we can and do some work, but also give them a break in that international period because this period has been tough on their bodies. Not just that but also psychologically it’s tough, when you’re around each other every day and it’s constant. It’s a busy schedule, but the same for everyone, whether you’re in the Champions League or you’re in the Players Cup, it’s the same for everyone and we just need to make sure that we do what we can do to help them be best prepared.”
On coming back from behind twice in the last week...
“There are positives at both ends of the stick. We’ve definitely shown our mentality from when we go behind and we respond, that we push, that we challenge, that we create and we never give up, which is a really good sign of what this team should be and what this club expects. I know we’ll create, I expect us to create when we’re down, I expect us to create even when we’re up. We started the week very good, for 80 minutes of the game we were very good against Brighton, created a lot of chances, nullified their threats apart from the really slow start and then against Crystal Palace, I thought we were lethargic in some of our approach, we didn’t get into a rhythm, we didn’t hit the defensive markers I expect us to hit, we took our foot off the gas a little bit and the players know that. We were honest with that conversation, we know what we need to do and we know how we need to regroup which is important and good as a coach when you know you get the same response from the players. It’s not a big negative on us as a team, we’re still in a good position to push and qualify and that’s in our hands to qualify for the next round of the Players Cup, but in those games we have tough games against Leicester and Ipswich so we have to be ready for them but alongside them we’ve got to play Everton and Manchester City, so lots of positives to take. There’s a lot of optimism from our side and a lot of opportunity for players to be seen too.”
On the season so far...
“Really positive in terms of where we’re at, the direction we’re going, what we want to do, how we want to look and be seen, how we want to be viewed and the way we want to be spoken about, so a lot of optimism in that way. There’s still some frustration from my side and probably from the players’ side in some of those games where we played against London City and Chelsea, but I think we’re using that in the right way, to be positive and direct and when we come up against any opponent, we know that we’re going to put them in a game. So it’s been a really positive start to where we want to be, now we’re being spoken about in that position which is nice but we have to make sure that we back that up consistently. I just want us to find some rhythm and some continuity in performance week to week to week. If we can start to do that, I know it’s tough physically, I know it’s tough psychologically for the players to keep going and going, but if we can find some balance within those performances we can definitely push on. Even the Palace one, we came back from behind, we pushed the game and probably had enough chances to win the game. We weren’t at our best but we’ve shown that we can really push the game, so we just need to find balance in performances.”