It’s a beautiful time of the year, especially when you have kids and they still have the magic feeling about it. We had the opportunity to have some time off because of the schedule this year and to enjoy that period in a different way.
Has anything changed on the fitness of Tomiyasu and Partey?
No, nothing has changed yet. We’re not going to have those two available unfortunately yet, and then we have the suspension of Kai. So I think it’s five players missing in the squad. So yeah, we are a bit short, but we have been doing well and we still have lots of other players willing to play.
Is there a chance we could see Partey or Tomiyasu before they go away on international duty?
There is a chance, yes. We’ll have to see. They haven’t trained yet so they’re still far away off that. Hopefully they can evolve in the right way.
Has it been decided when they’ll go off?
There is some talks between the clubs and the federations at the moment. We haven’t decided when is best to do it.
Does it feel different being at the top this time as opposed to last season?
It feels similar. It’s always a really good feeling to have the chance to be at the top of the Premier League which is even more competitive than last year and more difficult. Tomorrow we’re going to have a really difficult opponent in front of us and we’re going to have to be at our best.
How important is January for the window?
That’s a different matter. We’re just focusing on the importance of tomorrow, Fulham and the FA Cup. Then we’ll have a break to assess and think about the options that we have and how we can be better.
How difficult will West Ham be?
Very difficult. They are a really good side, they’re really well coached and when you look at the success that they had last year and how they’ve played this season they’ve shown a lot of consistency. They’ve beaten Spurs and Manchester United - that tells you everything about the difficulty of the game Tomorrow we’ll have to be really, really good.
Odegaard has been playing a bit deeper recently. Do you see his strengths more in the build up?
Well there are certain games that require certain things from certain players. We have used Martin to accommodate the needs of the team to make us better against certain behaviours and challenges that the opponents put for us. That’s a big quality of his. He also the defensive part which I’m really impressed with and I’m really happy with that because it’s a part of the game that we want to transform and keep evolving.
we live in and lets keep going.
Martinelli’s numbers haven’t been as impressive in the PL as the CL. Why do you think that is?
Difficult to put something onto it. Sometimes it’s decision making. Sometimes, scoring, or missing a chance, or hitting the post, or receiving the ball, the difference is small details. He’s really trying. He’s a massive threat for us. Not only everything that he generates with the ball, but without the ball as well. The amount of time that he threatens the backline and the pressure he puts on the backline. It will happen again.
Is he maybe struggling with confidence?
I think confidence is not a problem for Gabi. Sometimes the efficiency and putting the break down and lifting your head up, for everybody it’s the most difficult thing to do and finding that composure or timing in the box. Certainly a lack of confidence or trying is not going to be an issue for him.
You said the squad is quite short, can you let anyone go in Jan?
Well at the moment, it is very difficult. We are really short. We have positions that we have been very exposed for the last six weeks and hopefully we are going to get players back. In what condition and when? That’s a question mark and as well because we have some long-term injuries still for certain players that give us a lot of versatility and that’s an issue.
In past club pivoted well in Jan to different targets. Have you got multiple plans now?
We have certain targets, ideas if things happen. As well, we don’t know how the squad is going to look in two weeks’ time and you have to be always prepared for that. But it is a very, very tricky market that shifts very quickly and it is quite unpredictable as well - and you have to be prepared. We will be prepared and we will try to make the right calls.
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