Time will tell. We have another big game against Wolves. They are a difficult team to play against, they have been shown against top teams what they can do as well. All of the preparation has been focused on understanding what we have to do tomorrow to win the game.
What have you done to improve Havertz’s confidence?
First of all support him like with any other player and then give him the tools and the time to excel his qualities. I think that’s what he’s doing, everything is starting to come together. A lot of things he was doing right he continues to do so and now in front of goal he’s been very efficient.
Are you trying to extend White and Tomiyasu as part of the strategy to keep your best players for the next three or four years?
That’s what we’ve been doing in the last three years. Apart from strengthening the squad, rewarding them as well and having some stability in the squad. Those decisions are very important.
Do you have sympathy with Gary O’Neil with the decisions that have gone against Wolves?
I have sympathy with all my colleagues because I know how beautiful and how challenging the job is. Those moments in front of the camera are not easy ones. You see that in many, many situations already this season as well as last season. We’re here to make the game better and make clubs better. We all need to win to do that.
What are your thoughts on sin bins in football?
I don’t know. It has to be tried. I think it’s a long shot still so we’ll see what we get from there?
Any fresh injury concerns?
No. I don’t think we’ll get anybody back still and we didn’t have any incidents, so, all good.
Do you feel the team are approaching their peak?
I think there are more levels to come and I hope so. We have to continue a lot of what we’re doing in games to earn the right to win, but I think we can still improve and be more consistent.
You could be four points clear on Saturday night. Does the chance to put pressure on your opponents give you an extra boost?
We can control what we can do and I’ve learnt that in this league ‘ifs’ are not a very positive thing to have in mind. We’re really hungry to play in front of our fans tomorrow and win the game. This is what we are going to try and do.You could be four points clear on Saturday night. Does the chance to put pressure on your opponents give you an extra boost?
We can control what we can do and I’ve learnt that in this league ‘ifs’ are not a very positive thing to have in mind. We’re really hungry to play in front of our fans tomorrow and win the game. This is what we are going to try and do.
What are you expecting from Wolves?
They’re very prepared. They have a lot of quality over there. It’s not a coincidence what they’re doing. They perform really well against the top sides and that says a lot about the coaching staff, what Gary is doing, the way they have prepared and how they control opponents - difficult opponents - especially when they play at home. We’re going to have to try to break them down tomorrow.
How do you counter a low block?
Giving players tools, ideas and understanding the game we want to play. Then, as I mentioned before, it’s about the efficiency we show in the last part of the pitch which dictates the outcome of the game. The other night we were very efficient on that.
How challenging is it demanding three games in a week?
That’s the beauty of it though. We wanted to be in that position and we are playing big games every three days and the squad is ready. Players are hungry to play every game, they are disappointed when we have to rest them to manage minutes. That’s a really good sign.
With Gary O’Neil and Eddie Howe’s issues this week, is VAR controversies the one thing managers have to deal with more than anything else?
I have enough in my garden.
When you came to the club, players were leaving and contracts were terminated, but when you look over the last year, does the organisation off the pitch to keep players help you work better on it?
It does. Those players have deserved new deals with performances and the way they’ve behaved. It gives us stability. They are at a great age as well so there’s more to come from them and that was the initial plan. It’s something that they have earned. It’s made the squad much stronger. As well credit to Edu, to the board, everybody that planned those sequences to get them in the right time and keep evolving the squad in the right way.It’s not a coincidence that when the club is well run from top to bottom, that good results come on the pitch…
For sure. Without top players, without a top quality squad, with the demand that we have in this league it’s impossible to do it. For sure we’re trying to build and evolve and be better and be more precise as well to make a big impact with those decisions.
Is VAR something your talking to other managers about?
It’s a topic that comes up for sure. We talk about many things but that’s one of those as well because at the end it has a huge impact on results on our job depends on that.
What kind of stuff do you say?
All very positive.
Should fans not get there hopes up about a similar attacking display to Lens given how Wolves are likely to play?
It will be different, it won’t be the same. We cannot expect the same. This team is going to be different to last season and hopefully very different to the season next. That’s part of the evolution. Leaving some of the things in the past to the new things. That has a transition. We want to still be competitive and win matches and I think the team is competing really well.
Havertz - Huge week for him - have you seen a difference behind the scenes?
Not really. He’s been very positive, he’s been so influential in a good way to his team-mates and the team. But obviously his confidence grows, he’s really looking forward to something. When you feel loved, when you feel respected and when you feel admired, things are much easier. Your energy is better, your body language is better and I think that is the way he’s felt in the last few days.
Celebrations at Brentford - You said he wouldn’t have done that himself - why?
He’s very respectful. He’s not someone who wants to be there in the frontline, or at least he doesn’t show it in that way. But then, if you ask him to go to war, he will be the first one down there. But he doesn’t want to take that credit and I think he deserved that credit on the day.
Could Tomiyasu become more of an attacking outlet going forward?
I think so. The priority for a defender is to defend and defend well. Anything that they can add on top of that is excellent. We are looking to develop, especially in the defensive phase: the behaviours and the consistency that we have shown.
Why does the Rice, Odegaard and Havertz midfield trio work so well?
Time will help and the more minutes that they play together and with more chemistry they will get better and better. We have many options with different qualities. We can play with two players that are not as offensive as the three we are talking about right now. It depends on the opponent, the game state and what we are trying to do.
Gary O’Neil said on Monday “tonight has finally turned me against VAR”. Should we give up on it?
No, I think we can improve it and we are trying to do that. All those things that are happening I think are probably necessary to improve it and we have to take it that way. It has been a big change. Technology is taking a huge responsibility in games and it needs time. If we use it the right way, we are listening to people, we are open, we are humble and we are trying to be constructive, I think we will get to a really, really good place.
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