How did you assess the performance?
The first half performance was not good enough, in every way. We were nice to play against in every way, nice off the ball, passive. Things we spoke about before the game defensively we didn't do. We didn't restrict space between the lines, we didn't get the line up as much as we didn't do, we didn't pressure the ball, we didn't make contact with Arsenal players. Then on the ball, same. Passing short, passing to ourselves in bad position, not playing longer, not making forwards runs, things that we talked about. Play like that, you get what you get.
Was the second half part tactical, part the players spirit?
It was maybe things I said at half time that to be fair, I said before the game. Tactical no, because I got asked before this game about playing the back five against Brentford, or playing the back four, back five, these things don't matter if you don't do the basics right. We've got to do the basics a bit better. We had more dynamic nature, play in to the front and hold and make runs and get up the pitch and create a couple of decent chances, score a goal. Those things are good for the players to see in film. They're small gains at the minute, but that can't be 45 minutes at the end coming to a place like this.
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Unacceptable to not make contact as a basic?
It is a basic. It's two things. I think it's a mental desire, to get up to people. It also starts with the capacity to be able to do it. If you haven't been conditioning and doing that and doing that and you don't do it on Wednesday, don't do it on Thursday, you won't do it on Saturday or whatever day you want to talk about. When those things become you as a group, they don't change overnight and we're seeing that at the moment.
Why is there a lack of aggression?
I don't know. I think you saw more aggression in the second half and that has to be a basic.
Enough individual pride to do the basics?
I want to be quite clear about this: it's not the case. I know the casual answer to the first half can be the players didn't have pride or didn't care enough; the players certainly do. I'm not questioning the players as lads. From being good lads to transferring it onto the pitch.
You don't need to be aggressive through the week to be an aggressive player when you go on the pitch. That has to be something that you do. As a collective group where not at, there can be a lot of reasons, maybe some excuses but there can be reasons and some are very valid by the way. Players coming into the Premier League into a team having a difficult moment. It's not easy, it's the hardest league in the world.
There are plenty of players I can go 'Okay, they need time or they need to come out of the team or they need to develop a bit, they need to understand'. Coming into a team which has this season has been lacking results from the start of the season. Those things are not easy. There are some things you go 'fine, we need to get better at that', but there are some things that you go 'lads, they are the basics and they have to be better'.
I spoke a lot about confidence after Brentford, stand by that. The team is low on confidence but it's also underperforming in the basics. Now it's the question of five games to compete with each other, like Noni did tonight in his performance from two weeks of good training, to show you deserve to be in the team.
Those should be the rules anyway: now or never. People say there's nothing on these games but they're wrong. Every individual has a lot on these games.
Does the second half performance frustrate you?
Absolutely, that comes with management. That's not just me. As a manager, going to manage for a long time, I played for many a game, I played in fantastic teams and we had halves like that. You have to react. When you have halves like that at a moment and come to a team like Arsenal, you get what you deserve. The answer is a little bit too late, too retrospective, it has to be from minute one.
To be fair the feeling before the game was good, the energy in the room was good but at the moment I know it's much harder to take good energy. The lads are good lads, not bad intentioned, to take it onto the pitch is the important thing. Tonight is another lesson of what it has to be when we go to Bournemouth, who are playing really well, going to Forest fighting their lives and last three games of three of the top four, we have to bring that.
How difficult has it been for you to motivate the players?
I motivate them and I do my job. I understand that the role of an interim as such, especially when there is no clear goal in position, makes it difficult. In my short time here, and the more I'm here in the short period I'm becoming more practical about it. The players that do show that they train well, they have their motivation. It's not always the shouters, it can be the quiet ones that have the motivation, will be the ones that continue to try and get improvement in this five games until the end of the season.
As the club moves forward that will have to be the case all of the time. That's what top clubs have, somewhere this season we've lost that kind of feeling. There can be loads of factors to it, I don't care about the factors in my position. I've only got five games and four weeks until the end of the season. All I care about now is seeing a better first half than I saw, and even the second half was good but it's still not what we can do.
Would help you if there was clarity in who the next coach Is going to be?
No, it makes no odds to me.
That situation completely separate?
Yeah.
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