Is Kurt Zouma available to play against Leicester and should he be available to play?
The answer to that is yes he's available to play against Leicester. There are different views, different opinions over whether he should be available or not. We as a club took the decision to say he should be available and I stand by that.
Are you aware of the criticism leveled at West ham and you personally?
I don't think the club could have taken more action, any quicker, than what they've done. West Ham have done a really good job in fining him maximum wages. I am not condoning his action we all accepted they were diabolical. But we've chosen to play him and we stand by that.
Are you concerned about club sponsors suspending their relationship with West Ham and citing not only the incident but the response?
The situation is terrible, the incident is terrible we all totally agree with that. there is nobody at this football club who does not agree with that. Sponsorship, if it gets taken away is something the club will deal with not me. As I said the other night we are so disappointed it was completely out from character for Kurt. We have never seen this and he is a really good lad. I'm really surprised by it and he is getting help so we are trying to do as much as we possibly can as a club and a team to help him.
How is Kurt? What kind of help will you get him?
Like drink driving offences most people have to go to classes to learn the reasons and the damage that can be done. The RSPCA are going to provide him with courses for Kurt to understand about animals and how to treat them and we will do everything we can to make sure Kurt is looking into it and getting better and understanding it. So as a club we are doing everything we possibly can.
How is he?
He is very disappointed and incredibly remorseful and like everybody else you need forgiveness and he is hoping he is forgiven for a bad action. We must not forget many of us in life make mistakes and we are hoping people out there give him a little bit of forgiveness.
Are you dealing with Zouma in the same way as you would deal with any player in your squad or are you giving him preferential treatment because he is such an important player?
He is treated the same as any other player. In my whole career I have over 1,000 games and have never treated any players differently even though at times you have to. Sometimes you have good up-and-coming young players and you treat them differently for different reasons. Sometimes you have very good senior players who have to be treated differently but if it is regarding disciplinary reasons everybody is treated exactly the same.
What type of challenge are you expecting on Sunday from Leicester?
I think Leicester have got a really good side. Over the years they've done unbelievably well. They were FA Cup winners and recently league winners. Because of the way they've built it, you look at their facilities and their recruitment so over the years, Leicester have been a very good model for teams trying to improve, such as West Ham.
They're maybe not quite in the best moment right now. They're a really strong team, have an excellent manager, and it'll be a really tough game for us.
How much a distraction is the Zouma situation proving?
I've never had one (an incident) like this. As a football manager it shows you never know what you're going to get. I hoped I would never have an incident like this and I hope I never will again but that's part of being in this job. It is out there and we are really disappointed with it. We'd rather we weren't making news. West Ham have made really, really good news in the last two years.
We have been a side a lot of people have looked to and we have so many good players including Kurt Zouma. We have a really good side. I'm sad the focus has been taken away from what is, at the moment, a relatively good season that I hope is going to get better.
It is also taking away from the strides we have made in the last year or two so we must not get his mixed up with what we have done in the last couple of years. As a football club as well during the pandemic the works the club did in the east end of London was incredible so we mustn't forget all the good work the club have done because of one incident. So that is why we are asking people out there for forgiveness. We know there has been a mistake made but we are hoping people will look at it in a different light.
Leicester have missed out on the Champions League in the last two years how important is it that you learn from that and seize the moment?
We have an opportunity like other teams, Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United but I think in recent times you would say West Ham would not be competing against those team but now we are and we are being talked about challenging. We know we're going play really well and improve on how we are playing at the moment and to have to up our game.
At the moment, we're picking up points when we don't think we're playing as well as we should be, but in many ways that is a good thing but if we can get back to our best form, hopefully that'll come up with more wins and more points before the end of the season.
The Kurt Zouma decision has upset a lot of West Ham fans, what is your message to them?
We are upset by it and really disappointed. I can't say anymore I am someone who is a great lover of animals and have them myself. If you are talking about West Ham supporters being disappointed there is nobody is more disappointed than me and the club as well because the club are doing so many good things.
We are in a really good position with the way the club is working and the way the team is playing so we do not want anything to distract that and obviously this has. We are really sorry it has upset West Ham supporters but it is an incident we hope they will forgive and forget in time and move on. We need their support they are really important to us so for the West Ham supporters who I am sure are very disappointed as we all are at the club as well.
Could his actions affect the team's performance if they are disappointed in him?
It could do but you have to remember that we all make mistakes whoever we are and whatever walk of life and you have to hope that people will say 'okay we accept your apology.
Kurt has apologised and the club have done everything they possibly can and out of a really bad situation we are trying to get something really positive from it. We have to make sure the animal charities will benefit greatly from it so we are doing everything we possibly can to try and get something from it.
It is a terrible situation we admit that nobody is hiding it but we are trying to make some good come from that.
Brendan Rodgers has accepted he is under pressure, how surprised are you by that?
I don't believe he should be under pressure as he is ultimately one of the best coaches and young managers certainly in the Premier League and if you were talking in Europe Brendan Rodgers would be one of the elite managers. So I find that very difficult to see.
It shows that in football can have good times or bad times, but in the bad times, you have to find your way through it. I hope to keep his bad run of form going at the moment, but I think Leicester are a really good team with some top [players and we're very aware of the difficulty the game poses.
Declan Rice has said he wants to win things but all the talk about a transfer is just noise. Is that good news?
He has just said all the words I have said to him. We want to be in the Champions League, to win the Champions League the first you have to do is qualify for it.
We want to challenge the teams at the top. We have got European football and are now getting ourselves in a position where we are giving the top teams a game and what we want to do is build on it and Declan is a big part of it, a really important player to us and we want to try and fulfil those ambitions the same as Declan.
How do you feel about the criticism you have faced?
I understand the criticism because I understand how severe the video was and what he did was terrible. So I understand the criticism of me personally.
I know where my own moral compass is and I know that if it is to do with animals people will be critical because of the animals as well. There will not be someone who enjoys animals more than me. So from that point of view, I can look in the mirror myself.
But I totally understand why people would be disappointed by my, and the club's decision to play him but that is a decision I have made and I stand by that.
Has this incident divided the dressing room?
I actually think it is going to make it stronger. I think it is one of the situations where as a club, I think the club has acted brilliantly in a really difficult situation for the club. It is not an easy situation for the players it is around us we all understand that.
But It is the sort of thing that pulls you together. Sometimes along the road there are plenty of bumps, it is not always a straight line. We've hit a big bump and we need to try to get over it and we are doing everything we possibly can.
