What was your experience of the stadium tonight and playing in Perth?
It was a good few days here, a good finish to our two weeks in Australia. It started with the first morning, meeting the premier McGowan and everybody made us feel welcome and there was a lot of blue and yellow in the town and here in the stadium tonight.
The idea of Leeds United coming here to play in front of our fans and to be part of what we have for fanfare here in Australia was really special for all of us and we got some really good work done. In the end I was pleased with the match tonight.
Were you somewhat surprised with how many Leeds fans turned out to Fremantle during the week and then turned out tonight? Were you surprised with how deep the fanbase is here in Perth?
I was surprised in Brisbane or in Gold Coast first and then I mean it's incredible. The guys have been here once already and they talked about it, but to experience it from day one and all the way to the end, it became almost expected, but we're really thankful.
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The people have been very supportive. They’ve talked a lot about staying up in the middle of the night to watch their beloved Leeds United play.
To be here and to have open training sessions and have our guys stick around for two hours after training to sign autographs and show appreciation for all the passion for the club, it's been special for everyone. We have a really great group of humble young men and they always try to represent the club in the best way possible. The connection with our fans here was great.
Where the club finished last season wasn’t ideal, you’re coming into this pre-season, you have a lot of turnover, losing a couple of key players. In these couple of weeks you’ve had in Australia, how do you feel you’ve gone about addressing the issues at play last season for Leeds?
Tonight was one of our best games in terms of tactical clarity in our execution of what we want the game to look like. We're still working on our effectiveness in the last third in our ability to turn some advantages into real concrete chances and goals.
It's been a theme since I've been here, but the level the game is played at is so high goals come at a premium. We still have work to do, but I can say having our team in concentration like this, over a two-week period has brought them together in a big way.
It's clear to see the additions have brought a lot and fit in really well. There's a general sense of real positive energy and optimism inside the team right now.
If you take where we started two weeks ago to where we are now, I feel like we're much ahead and we've covered a lot of things tactically video-wise and then also with the team spirit, so I feel like it's been effective, but there's still so much work to do.
Considering the Premier League starts so soon, are you comfortable with where you're at and how far is there still to go for this team to get to where you want them to be?
I don't know how many years I've been a manager now, but I've literally never come out of pre-season and gone into the season feeling like we're ready. It's just the reality.
It's an ongoing process, but, from day one, the work and the concentration from this group of players has always allowed us to, day by day, maximise what we're trying to become. I still know there's so much work to do, but again, I feel we're going to have a good team this season.
Patrick Vieira just said he was quite happy with the level of physicality and competitiveness in tonight’s game, especially with the season so close. Is that a sentiment you would echo?
We've had spirited matches in all of them here and that's just the way our team plays. We only know full throttle and that's a good thing.
We try to bring our best every day, every game. Certainly, there's some emotion that goes on.
Some frustration with some calls and different things and tackles, but the pitch wasn't the perfect condition, but the mentality to try to get the most out of the game, to play at a high level, to play fast, to play with power was really good and there were major stretches of the game we were quite good.
You had two injuries in the first half. Can you just tell us what they are and how much damage they have done?
Luis Sinisterra had a little hamstring injury. We're hopeful it's not too much or too long or too severe.
Any time we have a hamstring injury, I'm totally dissatisfied because that's reflective of everything we do with them physically. We'll evaluate that and we hope it's not so bad.
And then Adam Forshaw had [Jean-Philippe] Mateta lean on him a little bit and tweaked his knee. We're hopeful as well that one's not so bad, but we'll get more information on it in the next days.
What has pleased you most about the three performances and what would be the biggest areas for improvement right now?
I would say the integration of the new players is what's pleased me the most. Then the fact we went over from game to game to game in this pre-season period, and we've been able to learn and grow and develop and apply more and more of the tactical model we want.
I still feel like we have a long way to go, but I feel like [we have] a lot of different players [who] are really starting to grasp tactically what their roles are.
In training, you’ve had the players in three groups for competitive drills and they seem to have enjoyed it. What’s the thinking behind the make-up of each group and have you kept that the same? What’s the general idea?
It's been a competition between three groups we've put together. Sometimes I do that in pre-season to create a competitive atmosphere and to also bring camaraderie so they enjoy the competition of the work every day.
I'll continue it probably through next week, so they keep pushing and the energy of what training is every day is at a very high level. Team spirit and togetherness is so important.
Clearly, I have a tactical way of wanting our team to play and we have a mentality of the way we go about matchday, but it's really important to me every guy feels like he's a big part of what we do and there's a responsibility and commitment to each other that defines what we're trying to become and what this club is.
Our fans demand that. When you come to Elland Road, if there's any sense of selfishness or lack of commitment from the group, they sniff it out immediately.
That's certainly important to me and why I feel like I'm a good fit for what we're doing here at Leeds United.
Rodrigo scored the goal. What will that do for his confidence?
The penalty was shaky in general, but Rodrigo knows he's an important player, knows he's got a lot of quality. In those moments we all have trust he's going to step up and bury it, which he did.
We need him to be at his best. He's going to be important here and we have to make sure, in every way, he's engaged and pushing. He's part of the leadership council and that can really help.
Rene Maric is someone you’ve been linked to. Can you tell us anything about that?
What can I say about that, James [Mooney, head of communications]? [More later this week]. Okay, more later this week, but I know who Rene Maric is.
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