Certainly something I wanted to try and do when I took on this role is to try to unify the club and create an environment here where we are all focused on the one thing. Obviously it hasn’t worked out that way. It’s understandable, like you said, the fans are not happy with our current situation. It is a difficult one to navigate because we need them right now, especially at home to create an atmosphere.
It wasn’t that long ago we played Liverpool here and it was a great night. Everyone was focused on the one thing. Like I said, the one thing I keep saying and I think it is important to acknowledge, the players are giving everything for this club and I think that is something that needs to be acknowledged by everyone.
I have been around long enough to know that some will just judge on where we are at at the moment and rightly so in some respects. It’s not good enough. If people want to put context to that they can, if not so be it. From my point of view, I’m still very much stuck on the fact that the players are just giving everything they can. They did on Thursday night, they did today.
There are probably at least two who shouldn’t have been out there. They were just desperate to try to turn our fortunes around. Hopefully over the next 10 days/two weeks we should get some significant players back which I think will help this group a lot. It will give them the boost they need. We have still got some fantastic opportunities this year to make an impact in the second half of this year and I’m sure that will happen.
I've said all along, the players need help and I've also said the club are working hard in that area to try to alleviate some of those problems, because Pape Sarr shouldn't have played today. He obviously wasn't fit.
The players are going out there and giving everything then can because we can't call off games. We've got another game in three days' time that these players have to front up for.
The injury situation will ease and I'm confident they will sort of help us. Even one more player coming in, just in the short term will give us an opportunity, at least to navigate these last 10 days, two weeks, of what's been a really hard slog for this group of players.
Who knows. I reckon there is probably a fair chunk that will say no. When you are the manager of a football club you can be very vulnerable and isolated. I don’t feel that. I feel like this group of players, not for me, are giving everything for the club. I have a group of staff that is really committed. I focus on that.
My role within that is to try and support these players. I can even see in training when the guys who are coming back come back in it is going to give everybody a lift. As I keep saying to the players, there is a fantastic opportunity this season to really make an impact and I know we can. But in terms of your question, is there anything I can say about that that is going to change anything that I need to do tomorrow morning? Nothing.