What were your thoughts on the game?
It was a bit of a mixed bag. Some good, some not so good. Meaningful minutes for guys who just got back which was important for us today. I think hopefully there aren’t any injuries. Good opposition so a little bit of everything.
Will there be any behind-closed-doors games for the Copa America/Euros group who have only just come back?
Nah, our training is pretty good in terms of getting people up to speed. It is a Monday night game so we have a couple of extra days for us. I think the 45 today will be good for them and we will do some good work with them over the next 10 days.
Dominic Solanke, he seems to be a player you like a lot?
He was obviously one I was very keen to get in. It took a while to get it over the line but I think he will be a great fit for us in terms of the player he is and the point of his career where he is at. I think he will be a good fit. As I said, we are a bit light in that front third in terms of adding quality not just to the squad but also to our team. He certainly does that. Pleased to get him on board and we have a week and a bit to work with him.
Does it help that he's versatile?
We identified him because he has the attributes we are looking for in terms of our position. He gives us some things we probably have been missing in the last 12 months, particularly when Richarlison was out last year. When Richy played he was very effective for us, it was quite evident when he was out we didn’t really have a player who can make the impact Dom can in the final third and just with his general play. So I think he will be a good fit for us.
How excited was he when you spoke to him about this new challenge?
We have got him at a really good time in his career. He has had to work his way back up which I always think is a good thing. Sometimes when careers go smoothly you wonder how people will handle setbacks but he had setbacks earlier in his career. He has fought his way back and has become a really good Premier League striker now. He is really keen to push on. He wants to improve and make an impact. I think it’s a great time for us to bring him in.
Solanke said ‘wow’ when he looked around the stadium. You want players to be enthusiastic about coming here?
Yeah I think it’s important. Players certainly have options out there and you kind of what to understand the motivations for why a player would want to come to us. Since I spoke to him I got a real sense he had a really burning desire to take his football to another level and really challenge himself at a big club. Like I said, he is keen to make an impact and our job is to make sure we provide that platform for him.
On Solanke, do you think he'd be ready to start against Leicester?
Yeah, I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be. He's played most of the preseason. Slight knock in the last game Bournemouth played, but, of course, we'll have a look at him during, during the week. But I think that considering he's done most of the pre-season, I see no reason why he wouldn't be available.
How long has he been on your radar?
Yeah, a fair while, but again, you kind of look at players who've had, like I said, interesting journeys and with some players, things happen really early in their careers and they go really well, but then there's inevitable stumbles along the way and you want to see how they react.
But Dom had a very bright start to his career and he was at big clubs, which every player aspires to, but for one reason or another, it didn't work out for him, but the fact that he's got himself back to this position where he's again one of the premier strikers in the Premier League, it's a testament to his character and he's only 26, about to turn 27, so I think probably because of those early challenges he had, I think he's going try to push and have a really strong and impactful, meaningful years from now on.
You said earlier about the intensity of the training during this week that you shouldn't be worried about the players who've just come back from the Copa America, Destiny has just got his first minutes, how ready do you feel a lot of the players are going to be?
Destiny has already been training a bit longer than that. We've kind of protected him from games, but only because he'd been out for a while but he has been training, a little bit longer than the other guys. But, yeah, look, the guys who came back this week from international duty, it's a matter of trying to get them up to speed.
They've all come back in good condition, which helps, but I think getting them 45 minutes today, against a really good opponent, I think they'll feel better about that and we'll use it next week, those 10 days, to gauge how ready they are. But again, I see no reason if they get through our training week that they wouldn't be ready.
It was a big transfer for Tottenham to bring in Solanke, do you anticipate much more movement after that because it would have taken a big amount out of the budget?
You know our budget do you mate?
I would imagine it's taken a chunk of out it....
Look, we'll see, there's still time in the window and I think there'll still be some activity.
A first run-out inside the stadium for Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, what did you make of their performances?
I thought it was positive it was something tangible for us as a positive is that they've had that run-out now and they know what it feels like and playing in a full stadium. So, I think they both had their moments in there as well and look, they're going to be good players for us, no doubt and the more exposure we give them, the more we'll help them develop.
Was Lucas alright? He seemed at one point to be in a lot of discomfort.
Yeah, I'm not really sure. He said he was struggling to breathe or we had to sort of find out whether he swallowed something. But yeah, so I think it was nothing serious. He was alright.
Dejan Kulusevski was good again as a false nine, will he play there again now Solanke has joined?
No, I don’t think so. The good thing about Deki is that he can play that attacking midfield . I think the reason for us why we signed Dom, and hopefully Richy should be ready as well, is that we want to have a player through that area who is a bit more accustomed to that role. Deki has done a great job for us but I think his strengths and attributes are more in that attacking midfield or wide role. I think he is really developing and has had a really good pre-season for us and hopefully it gives us some more flexibility and potency through the middle when he is playing because he can get into those scoring areas.
With these practice games, they say practice makes perfect, but what did you make of the three goals you conceded today?
Yeah, they weren't great. They were pretty ordinary, pretty similar to what we sort of conceded over there [in Korea]. But at the same time we're kind of not at that stage yet, of integrating people in, with a back four that's never played together before. I always kind of bear those things in mind. The key for us is to be ready come Monday week.
