What was the overriding emotion today at the end?
Obviously, really excited that we were able to, in a tough moment and in a really important game, emerge. The points are massive for us and there's confidence and momentum in the group. I think that after six weeks, we can see that the form of many players and the overall mentality of the group has grown so much so that's really helped us get to where we are right now.
It wasn't a great game, there was a giveaway ball I think from both sides, does that make the victory a bit more sweeter, the fact you managed through that?
I tried to, at half-time, be a little bit clear that we can calm down a little bit and play with a little bit more confidence in some spaces and find some more advantages. But the game was such that they were going to isolate a lot of their wingers in one-v-one situations, that they were going to capitalise on second balls and look to see if they can get out on the counter. For the most part, I felt like we contained that pretty well so the defensive performance I think was quite good. The Jack Harrison goal, we'd like to see more moments where we can win balls, where we can cleanly and calmly play forward, and where we can create advantages and then finish them off a little bit cleaner. So, we're not quite there yet but still, to get a clean sheet, to score three goals on the day and to get a massive result here, I think is really important for us.
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Was the key substitution being [Sam] Greenwood coming on and playing particularly well? He seemed to release Rodrigo to do what he does best?
First of all, Sam's been really good since we've been here and I said to him two days ago that if I look at the entire player pool, he's the one that's adapting the best and understanding what we want the game to be like. I think he showed that today and he also has quality. He has the ability to make some final plays, he's very technical, so we've got to find ways to include him more, so I've got to find ways to include Joffy [Joe Gelhardt] more, I've got to find ways to include Summerville, Cree [Crysencio] more, so all three of those guys for me are going to be big players here and are important for us moving forward.
You had what must have been a 15-minute conversation with Adam Forshaw before kick-off, he wasn't involved at all today, what can you say about that?
That conversation was just about our team, how we're doing, where we're going, what our goals are, how to get there. Adam's a very intelligent person and he's a student of the game so he's fun to have some of those football conversations with and he was injured on the day but he still knows that he's very important for us and we're all getting to know each other more and more. I think there's clearly some really good relationships already established within the group and I'm just trying to bring my ideas of football and my ways of thinking about how to lead and help all of our guys be the best that they can be, and they've all responded really well to that.
Will he be alright for the [Crystal] Palace game?
Yeah, I think he [will]. He might even be in training this week, he just had a little bit of a calf issue and we didn't want to risk him.
The crowd sang your name, I think for the first time, how does that make you feel?
I don't think it was the first time but to be honest with you, I appreciate it. I appreciate our fans so much, I love being here in Leeds, I love the area, the city, the people, my family and I are really enjoying our time here. The moments like that, so much of my emphasis is about the team and us as a group and what we're about and how we're going to achieve things together and anytime that it draws attention to me, I don't necessarily like it but I do want to show appreciation to the fans for reaching out to me. But what's most important is that they, which they do amazingly, is that they understand we're a group, a team, a club that wants to represent the city and play football that they can be proud of, and do that as a group. That's what matters the most to me.
What do you think that result means for the relegation battle, would you say you're still in it?
Yeah, yeah. Everyone's getting results around us. I think there's been some weak penalties in some of these games and we can't seem to buy a penalty. That's another topic, people in Leeds tell me we have to fight for everything and I've said already that I'm okay with that, but I think especially with the 16-day break now, it would have been really difficult to sit and watch the table knowing that we didn't pick up the points that we wanted in this game and things are going to get tight. By the time we play against Palace, the table will be tight again. We just have to stay focused on us, I've said that a million times now. But that's the most important thing, it's got us to where we are right now, this concept and mentality of just working every day and trying to improve and trying to give everything we have to each other. That has gotten us to where are now and we need to continue with that.
Where are Kalvin [Phillips] and Joffy in their fitness progress?
Joffy just got fit yesterday and quickly, and Illan [Meslier] by the way as well. Even if you would've asked me [on] Thursday, I would've thought Kristoffer Klaesson would have been the goalkeeper today. In the last 24 hours, he felt much better and what a performance by the way, he was fantastic. And then Joffy, he didn't really train this week so I thought about using him but Sam and Cree have been fantastic and then Kalvin, yeah he's close, he's close to starting and I think we'll use the next two weeks to get him fitter and stronger and healthier and ready to go for Palace.
Liam Cooper today, what a performance in a very, very poor game where there was poor quality on both sides, Liam just seemed to be head and shoulders above everybody else on the pitch.
He won his duels, he won his aerial duels, he was positionally in the right spot, he was aggressive against the ball, he was sharp, he didn't lose any balls. I had him speak to the team afterwards because I told them that I haven't had a better captain in the entire time I've been a coach. He was great, I think he almost came to tears because he loves playing with the guys so much. I really like this group, I really like being here. It's fun working with these guys, they give everything they have, so it fits with who I am and it fits with what we're trying to establish together.
You alluded to it a bit there with Kalvin, so pre-match you went with Robin [Koch] rather than Kalvin, is that because you feel Kalvin is not quite there yet?
Once we knew Adam couldn't go, I didn't mind because Robin, I think I said in the press conference, that Robin has been fantastic in training and I thought Robin was a real presence in the midfield today and won a lot of aerial duels, collected a lot of balls, really tactically moved with the game well, helped on set-pieces. I thought Robin was very good today, so that was great to see. And then obviously with Kalvin at 100%, we want to continue to push him to integrate within the team but it'll come. The worst thing, even with the situation with Patrick [Bamford], I felt so bad after his injury and I certainly don't want to repeat any of those mistakes with anyone else, so we want to make sure Kalvin's as close to 100% as he can be.
The results are obviously there at the moment, how'd you go about getting more quality?
This is a game we knew from the beginning wasn't necessarily going to be about quality. I do want us to play better, I want us to be more confident on the ball, I want our tactics with the ball to be put in place more and some of the combinations and ideas of what we want to achieve in possession, I want to continue to get better in those areas. But, coming out of Southampton, Southampton played every ball long and then we had to pick up second balls which we didn't do a very good job of. Today, we were much better with that and that helped us control the opponent more and it helped us find some advantages. Like I just said, the goal with Jack, we need more moments where we press and we win balls, and we can calmly and cleanly find actions forward that lead to big chances so that's why the third goal for me was good.
And Meslier was ill, was it?
No, it's the same injury he had from the Wolves game, it's still bothering him. I've even read some things saying about it wasn't a second yellow, it's three weeks later and he's still struggling from that. So for me, it was a little bit of a miraculous recovery given how he felt two days ago. I had a meeting with him and Kristoffer today and I said 'I know that goalkeepers like to have rhythm and I know that it's a sensitive situation when you have two goalkeepers and what the decisions are and how to make the right decision and support everybody including Marcos [Abad], our goalkeeper coach, in the process'. But we needed a big performance from whoever we made with the decision today and certainly Illan, in the moment, where he didn't train and he just had to prepare himself over 24 hours, delivered one of his best performances of the season and was incredibly stable.
Obviously, the spirit within the group is helping to make up for shortfalls in quality. Comparing it to other teams you've taken over, how surprised, how pleased are you at how quickly it's come together?
I've been saying it from day one I think, that the group's mentality to work and learn every day what we're trying to achieve with them has been fantastic. I will be the first one to say that in terms of the quality that we had in the match and what we wanted it to look like, it was far from perfect. Far from perfect. But I know that I can draw on their mentality, their motivation, their inspiration, their relationships with each other, their belief in each other. And we draw on that to still make sure that even when the game's not exactly what we want, where [against] Aston Villa, where the game isn't exactly what we want and we didn't really perform at our best, now we're able to now still try to do certain things effectively, and also know that fighting within the match is still incredibly important.
We'll often hear managers before a match talking up a player who then isn't going to play, how important in adding to this spirit is then fact that you're backing up these words you've said about Summerville and Koch with actually selecting them?
I look at it as just trying to help every player be prepared for every situation and I do that by having a lot of discussions with them about individual, sometimes video, sometimes group video, sometimes just a quick word or two at the right moment, and I do that not to be liked, I do that so that they know that I care about them and want the best for them and that ultimately they're prepared when their name is called and they can help the team in every way possible. I certainly have a big help also in that manner with the leaders of the team, that they know how important it is to have a healthy environment, so that part's been good.
