Right now, how valuable is that point?
I think the point is valuable but even more valuable is the clean sheet for us. They’ve been, since I've been here, not so easy to come by. We felt going into the World Cup break and coming out of the pause that we had that we gave goals away too cheaply and we really wanted to try to do better with that. We talked about both the tactics of what that would mean and then also the mentality to do whatever it takes to defend your goal. First half for me, I think we played very, very well. We were in the game we were managing to find a few chances. Then second half, they decided to play very direct to then try to pick up some set pieces and put balls in our box and then it becomes about momentum and energy and then bending but not breaking. And, in general, I thought we did that really well.
Did that explain the substitution particularly when Klich came on? I think it was Jack Harrison, who came off, was that about protecting what you had rather than trying to sort of win the game?
With Adam we're still addressing his physical issues, so at halftime we felt like we needed to take him out. With Jack, with him coming off of injury, we felt like we were getting a lot out of them, but we didn't want to push that too much. It's not that we had a cap today, I thought Jack played well and was in the match and just wanted to make sure that we didn't risk further injury with him, a little bit with Rodri as well. So you know, we're getting guys back in when we don't want to have setbacks and then in the meantime, we need to claw through some points which this point that in that sense was valuable.
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The other side of it was one effort on target and that’s something you’re going to have to address, is that worrying?
First half, we were solid, solid in the match and we didn't give away huge chances. We could’ve found a goal, yes, we could be a little bit cleaner around the goal but I thought they were some good moments. And then again after having two days less rest than the opponent, second half, they're able to put a lot of pressure into it. But yeah, important clean sheet.
Did you see the value of Tyler Adams coming back into the side?
Yeah, I thought he was very good, thought that he was able to help manage the midfield with and without the ball, which was good. I thought Adam Forshaw had a really good first half. Yeah, so Tyler was important.
What more can you say about the goalkeeper?
With Illan I'm always challenging him to mature with his presence in goal, with his belief in himself with himself, with his assuredness in decision making and with saves and with crosses. For me, by being the last defender at the right time, the choices he made with the ball, the saves he made, the crosses that he caught, this is probably his best performance since I've been here, even with Liverpool. So I think we're seeing it, seeing a goalkeeper that's growing right before our eyes and that's going to be really important for us.
You’ve been linked with Max Wober, I know you’re not going to tell us whether he’s coming or not, but you do know him, what sort of player is he?
I'm not addressing that. Thank you. If and when that comes, I’ll talk about it.
Do your attacking players take as much credit and satisfaction from that as your defenders?
I think so. Yes. Although in the second half you can see some moments when the attacking players are frustrated that we're not playing enough and that they're not finding the game and that they're just running. But on a day like today that's what it requires. Sometimes being a striker is about clean sheets as well and I think with the way that we want to defend and press that every player has to be committed to the tactics at all moments. So I've challenged guys like Rodri and Brenden and Tyler and Cree and Willy to make sure we have no frustration, that no matter what the flow of the game is that they stay committed to exactly what's necessary to each moment and so that part was good.
How difficult is it to be intense as you want to be without giving away free-kicks?
Good question. First of all, I thought a few of them were cheap from the referee. Although I thought Hoops (Simon Hooper) had a good match. And then we have to size up, especially when a team is dangerous on set pieces, how to be aggressive against the ball without constantly stepping in and fouling. Yeah, I think that's an important lesson.
In terms of how isolated the front three looked, when you're passing through the third to halfway line at times and like Tyler with Pascal we're trying to find options that weren't there. Rodrigo had very few touches today…
First half, I thought it was good. It's not so easy to come here and just command the game. But I thought that with the ball we still managed certain moments. It required poise and quality as well. What happened in the Man City game is we defended the whole first half because we gave the ball right back. We were better with that certainly today but still more work to do. I think that when we are able to create some rotations and some ideas of how to make connections and the distances from each other are good and the ideas of how the connections work that in the first half we were able to overplay them quite often, get into spaces in front of their backline. It’s now just trying to find ways to be a little bit more dangerous or have a little bit more timing for what the next play is, which could lead to the bigger chance. So we're making progress in some of these ways. Certainly getting Cree back into the flow even getting Luis back in the flow, having Jack back on the pitch today, those things are helpful so only to continue to work through that.
It became quite a battle of attrition in the second half, do you think that played into your hands, into the team's hands, with the mentality needed?
Again, they were able to push, we were a little bit tired. They played very direct, they get a lot of set pieces, the crowd comes into the match. I mean, the very first one with Almiron, it's 20 seconds into the half and I think it puts a little bit more pressure, they throw everybody in the box. They did that even in the first half from balls behind midfield. They just decided we're going in the box. So it's a way to put pressure on the opponent, but we managed it fairly well.
Are you clear yet on Mateusz Klich and his future, because you are using him, he is playing?
Yeah, no, we still like Klichy. I'm not going to comment on his future right now. But his commitment to the year right now has been great.
Jesse, you've obviously worked hard on the defensive side over the pause. How important was it that you got validation quickly?
Yes, you're right. I believe this was again, a combination of the tactical work that we've done. With the mentality to do whatever it took to defend and to also require a goalkeeper that's ready to help support the backline in a really good way. And I thought that part was good and a big step forward. We need to continue to have that kind of defensive mentality and stability and then build more into the game and how we can be dangerous.
While Meslier pulled off a couple of important saves, he didn’t have that many to make, you have must have been pleased that you limited the number of shots?
Well again, just look at the size of some of their players. We started the game with on defensive corner kicks with three players up high because we wanted to try to force them to adjust to us and not just be able to try some special plays, to use their big players. That was effective, I think, you know, and then you know, Trippier puts in some really good balls, but we defended really well together and we've been working on our defensive set pieces. So in general, I think you're right that there weren't a crazy amount of big saves that Illan had to make or, or worrying moments for the group.
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