Hi Nigel, just a quick injury update it seems Jay is a bigger doubt than Antoine after the game with Sheffield United?
Yea, Antoine's trained so he will be fine. Jay we'll just wait until tomorrow to make a decision.
How's the rest of the squad looking, anyone coming into the squad for the weekend?
Possibly, but the ones who have been missing from matchday squads have trained so it'll be a decision tomorrow as to who will come into the squad.
How's Nathan Baker coming along? We're not expecting him back before the end of the season but is he in the building, are you keeping in touch?
I think I've already gone on record by saying that he's due to have another scan and once he's had that there could be more clarification so that situation just stays the same. He won't be involved in any case before the end of the season and when there's something else to update you on we will do when it's appropriate.
How much encouragement have you taken from the two games over Easter?
They are much more like the types of performances we are looking for. To get four points out of those two games. Both of those games were very difficult and I think we were very competitive in both games.
Sheffield United could argue that they could have won the game on Monday and so could we with the sorts of chances that we had in the second half and certainly their dominance in possession in the first half, it was a pretty even game and could have gone either way but I think the draw was the fair result. But I was very encouraged by the way we went about the games.
It will be nice if you could replicate that for the final three games of the season and just show a bit of consistency and momentum for the final few matches.
That's always the challenge and that's the plan. But of course, it's about going into the next game. Derby relegated at the weekend as we are all aware and I really feel for Wayne and their staff and players just how competitive they have been all season.
To have such a big points deduction and to still have a chance with three games to go is incredible really so I do feel for him and everybody at Derby County because it's a good club and a very big, loyal fanbase but I've got no doubt that they'll bounce back quickly.
What kind of game and atmosphere are you expecting on Saturday?
I think the Derby fanbase will get very much behind their team, I would expect that and I think that's what will happen. I think they will show their appreciation to the team, two teams who go into the game with different scenarios but the season is... to our outcomes is settled.
Two young sides too so I would expect a good game of football but looking at the fixture at our place it was a very, very tough game and on that occasion, we came away with the three points and it was a very even contest in many ways and it was a very important win for us at the time.
If I can just ask you about Wayne Rooney, just 36 years of age and new to management, how impressed have you been with his leadership and calmness in a very difficult situation?
Well the very fact that you've mentioned those qualities, I think it has been... it would test anybody's resolve and dedication that he's I think led them very well and I don't know him particularly well but people have spoken very highly about how he's carried himself throughout the season.
From your point of view, there's only three games of the season left now what are you hoping to get out of those final few matches?
As many points as we can. We've already talked about some sort of momentum. For me, I want three performances which match our ambition and that is to be a competitive outfit at this level. It really is a tough league to have success in and what we have to do is continue to find different solutions for every game because it really is a marathon of a season and as we found ourselves with a number of players, it's good for them in some ways because they've coped very well.
When you speak about the summer and the shakeup required, is that a task and responsibility that you're relishing in terms of rebuilding?
I don't think of it like that, it's more a case of we need to change the squad. I don't try and look at it from a... relishing it is not a word I would use to describe how I would approach any situation in terms of making changes to the squad. It's a necessity. Most of the squad will still be here next year and additions that we bring in will hopefully improve us in a way which will give us a better chance of being a bit more successful and a bit more consistent.
That's the aim but it won't be a straightforward window again, talking to staff from many other clubs as well the challenges for everybody this summer is to see how the market actually reacts again I can't see there being huge changes from last year.
How prepared can you be when you don't know the uncertainty of the market? I know you've said there is work going on behind the scenes...
I can't go into details about how we are approaching it, I don't think it's appropriate for me to talk publically about it. Our strategy will be based on what we can appropriately do whether that be finances and the types of players and that's all I'm prepared to say publically, our intention is to strengthen the squad but outside that I'm not going to get involved in speculation about players because... and I say this every year about being a manager, you'll know about when the deal is done but not before.
And I never speculate on other people's players because I think it's disrespectful and likewise with players who might be leaving here. There is a sequence of events that need to take place before it becomes public so unfortunately, you're not going to get a lot of change out of me with updates in terms of speculation.
We will be working very hard here collectively to try and achieve the objectives that we set out and that is to strengthen the squad.
If you get the right players in, in the right positions that you would like, would you envisage moving into a back four next season?
Again, it depends on the players we have. The reason why we play with a back five or a back three in terms of central defenders has been out of necessity for a lot of the time but it also suits a blend of players that we have at the moment.
Whether that changes will be dependent on whether the prime targets we are looking for are achievable and without... probably the next question might be who are the prime targets. I know who they are but whether they can achieve them is another thing.
So for me it's always about trying to find the right system for the players that we have not... regardless of how people presume how I would like to play or my preferred formations, I've always been quite flexible in that regard. I was known as a 4-4-2 man for a long time and then you come working with a squad where you can't do that and you have to change it - it's straightforward in that regard.
I guess if you wanted to move to a back four then you won't need more of a defensive midfielder in the squad...
We need a very reliable defence to start with is what we would need. In terms of athleticism in midfield and players who are capable of doing a job whether that be in a four or a three. You already know I like playing with a two up top and even though some people put it as a 4-3-3 with a flat three it's never been that - it's two up top with one behind and that's how I like to play and we've had some success with that, quite a bit of success - so the three players in those positions have done very, very well.
First things first, we need to try and achieve the targets in the positions that we have set out and we can go from there but however we play in whatever formation, I still want us to play with a good intensity, that's is one of the main thing regardless of the system.
I want us to play with a lot of intensity and one thing it lends itself to pace and power and we've been able to be a success at times in terms of an attacking team. I don't want to change that aspect in what we already have - so improving the squad this summer will be important but it's not going to be a massive overhaul because I doubt that that will be possible.
I wanted to ask about Alex Scott, he spoke last week he has been a bit frustrated with his form recently, what have you made of it?
Made of what?
Alex Scott's form...
He's probably about right. My expectations are probably a bit more realistic than his. He's a very ambitious young man who I think has played pretty well when even in his own mind he's not been at his best, he has still not been bad.
For an 18-year-old who now has, I think 32 starts this season. That is quite an illustration of how highly we rate him at the club and I also think that... even if he hasn't been at his best he has still been effective during games and this is where it's really important to recognise the difference between his best and worst performance probably is a bit closer than some other players who have had a bit more of a rollercoaster.
His game understanding is such that even when he isn't at his best he can still contribute a positive amount to the team.
That's also a sign of his maturity at the age of 18 both on and off the pitch that he can come out and reflect on his own performances...
Absolutely, and that's a very important quality for players at any age that they are able to reflect in a relatively even way so he's a really good season. He's had a very impressive introduction to the Championship if you like in his first full season and so, one of the important things will be to again manage expectations next season.
For the final three games of the season is there an opportunity to experiment on anything that you would previously have been more reluctant to do before the safety was guaranteed?
Experiment with what for example?
I'll stick my neck on the line a little bit here but Dan Bentley's performances over the last two games, he had hearts in mouths against Sheffield United and appears to be playing more of a sweeper role. He has been tasked to play in that role a bit more?
You want any goalkeeper in the team to be playing as a sweeper, whether they are playing behind a back three, a back five or a back four. I know where you're going with that after the weekend but that's something about being a goalkeeper. You make mistakes and fortunately, they weren't costly but he's been very positive and I think it's important that your goalkeeper is a sweeper.
I'm not aware of any specific changes that we've made that have prompted any changes but since he's been back in the side he has been very positive and if there are some errors of judgement then they weren't costly in terms of conceding goals. Likewise, for the goal we did score, it started with him and his distribution so in terms of his starting position, maybe he's just feeling more confident and more aggressive which I don't think is necessarily a bad sign.
Man of the Match display for Han-Noah on Monday, have you noticed an improvement in his performances in the last few games?
Well he's not started them all and he's still in the same situation. I think the first half on Monday he had a tough half and in the second that was more like it. He's a young player and we know what we'll get. He works hard for the team, I wouldn't say that I've seen anything different. He only got on in the final few minutes against Stoke because our midfield on that day were excellent. His pitch time has been more limited recently.
Is that perhaps one of the hardest positions to get into because there are so many good players and options?
I don't think of it like that. Selection is based on what we feel is the best thing for any given game so it will be the same at the weekend. I would say that the forward position is the hardest to get in because they've been scoring regularly and have been a very efficient area of our team so that is probably the hardest to get in.
You have someone like Nahki Wells who had fewer opportunities than he would have linked this season and I think that shows you how difficult that area is to break in. Because we've been quite successful there.
Ryley Towler has been popular on social media, what's he like to manage and he had an injury around January how have you managed it?
Is the question about him as a player or him on social media?
It could be both...
I'm aware of some of the social media stuff. He's a really popular lad at the club and I think over the last 12 months he has really come on a lot. He's had a difficult time with picking up an injury but he's looking much stronger again now and he's back in training and hopefully, by pre-season he will be in a position where he's involved with the first team squad, so he's a popular lad who has made real progress over the last two or three years and he's keeping us entertained with his antics on other platforms, let's put it like that.
With that team building experience in the week, did you instigate it and how beneficial was that?
I think that's something to ask the players. When you go through difficult series of results, sometimes it's just nice to tget together but you need to ask the players that as much as anything. I always think it's good to do different things together, we work in a football sense in the training centre and sometimes it's nice to get outside and do something a bit different, especially when you've got Ryley.
The Under-23s are top of the league, are results important at that level?
Of course they are, it's below the first team. It's still a development squad but you develop quicker if you're successful and if you think about the number of players who have made the progression from our academy into the first team pool this season or in the last two years, they can only make that progression if they are playing in an environment where performance and success in terms of results to a certain extent is measured.
So academies are about developing players on lots of different levels but I think you'll find that lots of successful academies are the ones which get the balance right between the two and that is learning the game but also learning how to win. Because that's what we need to do.
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