Javi, Bournemouth away is the next game. Do you view this as a must-win for your team?
"In the situation we are in, for sure we need to put everything into this game. We've missed the last chances and we have to take the next one."
You led for over 60 minutes against Leicester. Were there a lot of positives to take from that game?
"Yeah, there's always positives to take but the last results were unexpected for us and we need a good result to change the dynamic a little bit."
Patrick Bamford looked devastated when he missed that last chance. Have you or any of the senior players had to say anything to him to pick him up and how important will he be in the run-in?
"To be strong, mentally strong, it's important in this part of the season. As you say in the last game, we've had two clear chances that at the end of the press conference, I told you maybe that goal is offside. But it wasn't offside. We had two very good chances to win the game, Leicester created two or three clear chances from our mistakes as well.
"But we had a chance at the end, we didn't take it, but we'll try to do it next time."
Luis Sinisterra, will he be available for you?
"Luis will be out for the rest of the season."
Is it a repeat of the injuries he's had before?
"No, I don't think so. I think it's something in his ankle, in the ligament... it's something I cannot explain but it's something to do with his ankle, his ligaments."
You do have options in that area, you seem to have preferred Crysencio Summerville lately as opposed to Willy Gnonto. Is anybody else coming into the fray and how has Willy Gnonto responded to you not picking him?
"You ask me about Willy many times and I always tell you the same. He is an exceptional player with an amazing character. It's a pleasure to work with him every day and after I have to make decisions in thinking 'what is the best for the team?'
"In the last game, I decided to play with that substitution to play with Summerville, but I'm sure in the next games, Willy will have chances to show how good of a player he is."
Just tactically then, why would the team be stronger with Summerville or Sinisterra if he was fit as opposed to Willy Gnonto or anybody else?
"It's something about what I think is better for the team, it's not to compare one with the other. I think that's not fair. In the moment, I try to choose what's best for the team and I think both can help us and both are going to help us for sure."
How much have you asked the team to bond as well? They were seen having the pizza yesterday as a group. Is that something you've encouraged to get their heads away from training?
"Of course, it's always better when you watch the games and you can see the results are better for you but it's better to not pay much attention on that. What you have to be focused on is yourself and you know you have to to get points, know you have to improve your games and know that's the best way for us.
"Try hard to improve, try hard to work because with some results, or with other results, we need to win points and we need to play better."
Javi, if you don't win the game this weekend are you worried about your own position?
"I'm concerned with the situation of the team, and when I arrived, I told you in other press conferences that we were in a worse position. We were then able to get 11 points in ten games over our rivals and of course, we want to get more.
"But we are focusing on trying our best in these five games left and starting from the next one, from Bournemouth."
What are Bournemouth's strengths, obviously they won last night against Southampton. What problems can they bring?
"In my opinion, Bournemouth is a very well-organised team. They have a very clear style they want to play and they did it yesterday. They've been doing it in their last games, and they have been improving their results in the last games.
"Now they are in a better position than us but we are going full of confidence that we will be able to play well and get good results."
Bournemouth have a small squad and a lower budget. Can you explain why they're higher in the league table than so-called 'bigger clubs'?
"Because football is not only money. In football, you can compete well if you are well-organised, if you have the values I think we have or in this case Bournemouth have as well. It speaks very well about them because if you see the budgets, some teams don't compete."
Can I ask you about Max Wober? He missed the game the other day, is he available?
"At this moment, he's not training with the team. We'll see tomorrow if he can help us or not, but now he's not training with the team."
When a team is struggling to retain possession, what solutions can you look for to try and keep the ball and get it into the final third?
"It depends on the game, I think against Liverpool for example it was tough because of the high press, it was very aggressive and we didn't have enough time to find the solutions and to have more possessions. But in other games, I think we can be able to have more possession. In the last games, we put in from the beginning Patrick [Bamford] and Rodrigo up front, we tried to find them sometimes more directly than other games.
"But in other games, we've tried with our mobility, with our options, the quality we have to play. I think we can have more possession in other games, but it's not the most important. I think the way you have it or the chances you create with it is more important for us in this moment."
You've talked about your belief in your players a lot. How do you keep them believing when you don't have the results to sustain that belief?
"First of all, they are professionals. In my opinion, they're very good professionals. They know how to deal with it, they know how to handle it. There are moments when you feel better, and moments when you feel worse but in all of them, you have to show your professionalism and give your best.
"Now is the crucial moment of the season and now is when feeling better or worse, you still have to give your best. It's simple like that, we have to keep going, keep working the way we are and I'm sure we'll be able to change the dynamic we have."
You mentioned the team will be full of confidence going to Bournemouth. How is the confidence and belief at the moment?
"Of course, you feel better at the end of the week after you have the reward of points but as I said now, I think we know we have to cope with it and to prepare for the next game because we've missed some important chances. We know it, but now we don't have time to think about it.
"At the end of the season, we can analyse what happened in specific games but now we have to be focused only on the next game and I think their confidence is coming from all the things we've done before and they can do it again."
When you're looking for solutions at this point in the season, is it worth looking at formation changes or is that too big of a change within the squad?
"Yeah, I try to analyse all the other teams, my team, the player I have because in the last games, we've always had some players out. Knowing that, I always try and use the best shape, the best 11 and after knowing in most games, the players that come off the bench decide the games.
"There are many players injured, many players injured. All the players have to be ready because all of them are going to be important."
Looking back now, what do you think has gone wrong since the second half against Crystal Palace? What's been different?
"In my opinion, it was a strange game because it was when we showed very face in the first half, creating many chances and in my opinion deserving a better result. But in the second half, we changed, we conceded goals, many clear chances and they showed their quality and made the difference.
"After that, we've competed in some games well, not all the games but in the last game against Leicester, we competed better even though it wasn't our best game. I think we are close to competing and at the same time getting the results we need."
Are there things in those games you wished you'd done differently as a coach?
"In between the last games, we didn't have much time to work between Fulham and Leicester, we had just two days. Now, sometimes we have more time to prepare. Today, we had some time to do something orientated for the next game but I think, in this moment of the season with the busy schedule, we can do it.
"But it's something we have to adapt to, not complain at all and try to prepare as good as possible."
How big of a blow will losing Sinisterra for the rest of the season be?
"Yeah, it's tough for us to lose key players. But I prefer to not complain, to be positive and give value to all the players that I have, that I have enough players to compete better and try to work with them. I try to find with them the way to compete better and the way to get he results we need and the way to achieve our targets at the end of the season."
Some fans have questioned the players' fitness, being good in the first half but then falling off. What would you say to those suggestions?
"I don't know, I don't think it's something physical. It could be the moment of the season, it could be stressed, the schedule. As I said before, in all the games yesterday, there were injured players. It's not only about one team, it's about all the teams, the competition, the games we have to play.
"In this case, if we speak about Luis, the way he was injured was after a tackle and his ankle was hurt. But then other injuries, muscular injuries are coming from all these things, not just one team. It's the competition."
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