How did you find Sunday's magical moment for Andriy Yarmolenko, everyone watching it found it incredibly special?
It was special, but at the moment I just felt it was us getting one goal in front at the time and it was special for that reason alone because the game was tight and Aston Villa are a good team. We'd not scored as many goals in open play as we'd have liked, so to go in front was important for us.
The special part was Yarmolenko scoring. It was the first time he has been back after the war began and he came on and made a difference which obviously drew a lot of attention for that reason, but hopefully, it's drawn attention in different parts of the world as well.
How is Michail Antonio, Aaron Cresswell and are they fit for tomorrow night?
They have done a little bit of light training. We are trying to find out if they are fit. We are trying to give them every opportunity to be fit. But they did not train with the team but they did a little bit with the fitness coaches. We will wait to assess them tomorrow to see how they are.
How late will you leave it to make a decision?
I have not named the team and I will probably not do that until late tomorrow, to see how they are.
READ MORE: Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell injury updates as West Ham prepare for Sevilla clash
How about Jarrod Bowen?
Jarrod Bowen is not available and probably won’t be available until at the earliest after the international break.
Are you excited to be managing West Ham against Sevilla?
I have been excited throughout the tournament with West Ham because it has been completely new, not completely new but probably new in recent history. Winning the group was really good for us and getting in this position now, to give ourselves a chance...There are one or two who are classed as favourites for the tournament and Seville would be classed as that. We didn't do too badly against them, but we're going to have to do much better to get through against them. We're looking forward to it.
What sort of atmosphere are you expecting from the West Ham fans?
The London Stadium on really special games, Liverpool at home Chelsea at home, we've had some fabulous atmospheres in the stadium. I'd expect this to be up there with them. How do you get a good atmosphere? Well that is from your team performance and how the team go about the job and we need to make sure we do not allow Sevilla to kill that atmosphere so we have to do a really good job on the pitch. I have no doubt the West Ham fans will be there in numbers and good voice.
Is there a danger the supporters get nervous?
The fans better get used to it because we're going to have a lot more of these types of games. I hope there'll be more in this tournament and I want us to be challenging near the top of the league. If that is the case the you use this as a stepping stone. I'm sure our players will be nervous tomorrow and I hope they are, because it also gives you the adrenaline rush to realise how important the game is. We'll have to play with great maturity, but I hope the supporters are right with us, which I'm sure they will be.
Do you use your experiences to talk to the players?
I've told the players about a couple of my experiences. In the Champions League at Man Utd, I was 2-0 down at Olympiakos and came back to win 3-2. With Everton we were 2-0 down to Fiorentina and went on to win 2-0 at Goodison, but unfortunately lost on penalty kicks.
I've been there before. You can't go gung-ho and think you have to score in the first two minutes. I hope we do, but the game lasts 90 minutes, so at the worst, we have to win by a goal, but we have to see if we can get the home advantage. If we have to be ready to go to 120 minutes, we have to be ready for that.
Are you going to go all guns blazing tomorrow night?
Well I think the word for that would be stupid because we have to play with maturity and experience which we do not have in this competition, we do not have experience of playing a game over two legs and we're understanding how to play the second game, which is new for us, but we've done everything we can.
We've given bits of experience from being in it. I would more hope we're going to show a mature performance throughout the game and be able to adapt to situations.
We've got to make sure we get a result at home in 90 minutes - that's the first thing I'm focused on.
Is there an extra level of pressure on this game?
I see this as an incredible achievement for West Ham to be in this position, from where we've been in the past. Our league position is incredibly positive, I have to say for the cup competitions and the league position, we're in a great position. All season we have attempted to challenge and win, we are trying to improve and get a better side.
I think the players are showing great resilience and our character's been unquestionable in the games. I hope they remain that way between now and the end of the season.
Do you separate the occasion from the game?
We're here to win. We want to win. It can be a great experience, we'll always remember it, but what will make us remember it even more is winning. We have to play with that level of experience, which I hope we can do. We've beaten Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham at home, so if we can beat those teams, we can give most teams a game. Hopefully we can come out winners again in the end.
Atletico did a job on Manchester United with Sevilla's experience is that is what they will be coming here to do as well?
If you're second in La Liga, you have to be some side. We talk a lot about how great the Premier League is bit don't forget there are great sides in it and top, top players. Sevilla are a side experienced in winning this trophy. We want to challenge the best and I think Sevilla are among the best at the moment
Nights like tomorrow are why you moved to the London Stadium...
I think this is what West Ham supporters hoped for when they did move, I think they hoped for European nights and would be given the opportunity to come to big games against big sides. In some ways, we've done that but I feel like I've just scratched the surface, I feel as if this can only be the beginning.
With Cheltenham, we feel like one of the outsiders at the moment trying to gallop and keep up with the favourites. In nearly all the games we've played in we've given the big teams a run for their money and in the Premier League we're challenging the top teams and if we're doing that in the Premier League we can do that in other games.
The difference is how we are able to manage our emotions in a game where free-kicks could be given very cheaply, we don't know the level of the refereeing we don't know how much Seville [will follow Atletico]. If you watched Atletico Madrid they did a great job on Manchester United in killing the game off at times so we have to be well aware how we manage that and we don't let it get to us and keep our focus.
We're all key in that, we need to make sure we don't get drawn into anything that could cause any form of giving the ref a decision to make regarding sending-offs or bookings which can put you in jeopardy. We will try and make sure we play the game how we want to play. I thought the referee in Seville was excellent, a young Swiss ref and he was fantastic.
Is the stadium starting to feel a bit of a weapon for the club?
I think that we are beginning to get much more used to it. When we first came we were still trying to get used to the surroundings. We're beginning to grow into it and so are the supporters and the club are trying to bring the ends in and make things more compact. I hope we're turning the stadium into one that teams will look forward to coming to but not for the game.
Can you get the players to liven the crowd up with a crunching tackle or an early shot?
I hope the way we play gets the crowd up. Sometimes you need the crowd to lift the players as well. We're going to play against a side that will make it difficult, maybe disrupt the game at times and play a different way, so we're going to need the crowd to see that as well. Right at the start, our mentality, knowing how to manage the game, knowing when we need to play at different speeds and how to do that, for us I hope we can show our experience.
Are you a fan of the dark arts?
I'm not. This is a gentleman's sport. In some way we're all desperate to win and we'd kick your granny, if you know what I mean, to try to get a result. But in the same breath, I think behind it all, you want to win in a fair and correct fashion. If you can, you want to play well but when it gets to the real sticky moments and you want to get over the line, you want to win it. So we need to make sure we can do that. We know it will be a difficult night.
Can you afford to take a risk on a not fully fit Antonio?
If he is not fully fit I won’t take a risk. He's not somebody I would do that with. Generally, if somebody isn’t ready to play then I won’t use them. The ‘but’ to that is that he is really important, for different reasons. We needed Yarmolenko’s quality to get us the goal the other day. We have been lacking that. But Mic plays in a different way for us, leads the line and brings other people into the game… we need Mic fully fit and firing.
How is Yarmolenko's mindset?
He seems okay at the moment. When you have a moment like that, sometimes it takes a little bit to come back from it - you get such a high, it's not easy.
It was a really important moment for him and for us - he got us a goal which mattered so much - and sometimes to get back to those levels quickly is not so easy. He's fit and available at the moment and he'll certainly be needed in the game tomorrow.
Noise will be incredible – you probably won’t be able to be heard on the touchline. How do you cope with that?
It is all about preparation. I used to as a younger manager I would sit back and watch Sir Alex and Arsene Wenger who would sit back in the dug-out and trust their players totally. Stand back and very little is being said, instructions now again, but generally they were very good.
And there was me as a young manager who jumped up and down the touchline trying to get messages on, trying to have an impact on the game. Now there is a new breed of manager the likes of Klopp and Conte, who actually the media enjoy because they are out there, jumping up and down. People want that, so it is a very difficult thing as a manager. You can stand back and let the players get on with it or you can be someone who tries to help best they can with voice or signals.
You can manage in different ways. But I understand it will be very difficult to hear me. The players probably blank me anyway! They say ‘I can't hear you boss’. That’s part of it. But I am a manager who always tries to help players. my reason for being on the touchline is if I can do one little bit that helps it is better than nothing. But my admiration were always for Sir Alex and Wenger who would not get involved. The trend for the modern manager is they really want to see someone jump up and down.
Sevilla squad will be stronger, will your preparations be the same?
Probably exactly the same. I think it does make them stronger. You have to remember Ocampos is suspended though. Like we have got injuries, they have them too. Does it make them stronger and us weaker? Or whatever, it is a bit like that.
But Rakitic is a very good player, very experienced player and always has been during his career and Delaney is an excellent player. they have been around international and European football, been with Barcelona and Dortmund. Those two are very experienced in a game that needs a lot of nous to get over the line.
