I’ll start with injuries…
Obviously we made the announcement on Rodri yesterday. So unfortunately, he picked up an injury at the end of the match that'll keep him out for probably six to eight weeks. Adam, we're building up but not quite ready yet. Archie, almost back in training, Stuart is making really good progress. Sonny Perkins also picked up like a 10-day ankle injury in the match against Accrington. So he won't be ready for this match either.
There's talk of Rodrigo being out till the end of March for a man who scored I think 40% of your Premier League goals this season, how big a blow is that?
Yeah, we’re obviously disappointed. First, as a manager, I always feel it's our responsibility to take care of these guys. So trying to manage them always physically so that they're not risking their bodies, I think we do a pretty good job of that and if you went by muscle injuries in this squad over the past year, it's been quite good.
This one was a little bit of a contact at the top of the box right at the end of the match and it resulted in a small fracture in the bottom of his tibia. So you can't ever protect players all the way they have to play the match and you can't treat him like porcelain. Obviously, after the match, when it was 3-0 then you think ‘well, should we have not played him on the day’ but the emphasis of putting them on was to get him in Patrick playing together again so that we can continue to have the option of both of them on the pitch at the same time.
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But yeah, we're disappointed for Rodri. The good part is that Pat's in a really good way physically this week is the best he's felt since I've been here. He's training well, he's in good form, he's playing well. It's the reason we went out and got Georginio, so I also think Georginio played really well against Accrington and I think he's ready for some big challenges in big moments with us as well. So we have a really strong squad now really balanced squad and we're excited, we're excited for the upcoming matches because we believe that we're really strong.
So no hesitation in putting your faith in young Georginio?
No, I mean, we went and got him because we felt that he was ready. We knew that he's young and it will take him some time to adapt but I've been really impressed with how intelligent he is. I think he fit into the team almost perfectly against Accrington. Obviously we know the Premier League's another level, but we're excited for him to have opportunities.
Quite a few games to go yet but when you look at that league team, it's starting to look like three from nine, it's nine points separating those bottom nine teams. What's your assessment of how things look at the moment with regard to who's going to make the dreaded drop?
For me, it's totally on our process, which I've been very positive about in the last weeks because it's clear that our group is coming together in a really strong way. So obviously we can't avoid the topic of what the table is, and it's very tight, which makes the match against Nottingham very important for us. But I think we've actually finally created a process where we're really focusing on our development, on our performance and our confidence and on our belief, and that's led to us playing better and now it's time to pick up some more results. You can look at it a lot of ways people always talk that we haven't won a lot of games in the last however many but if you've go through our last seven games, we've only lost one.
So we're on an uptick and the key for us is to keep our foot on the gas and keep pushing so that we're going get to be the team we want to be.
It did look like you were going to lose Jack Harrison, but then things changed at the last minute. Tell us the story of what happened because it just seemed bizarre turnaround…
Yeah, it’s time to talk about transfers, I guess. How I would describe it is in the 11th hour something came from Leicester. We've been talking with Jack for a while about renegotiating his contract and it's kind of gone well, but then stalled at different moments. We've spent a lot of money in the last couple of transfer windows, I think very wisely and I think we've invested very wisely. But before I think all the powers that be could get together from all the different angles, then in the 11th hour there's some internal discussion in a lot of different ways on what's best for everyone.
But once it all came together, it was clear that we want to Jack to stay, Jack wanted to stay and that's why he's still here. So I think we are visiting getting that contract extension finalised because I think Jack has earned it, that he's an important guy in our squad, but it created some complication because he only has 18 months left on his contract, this comes in, but in the end I think we all came together very intelligently to say Jack needs to stay and Jack felt the same.
Hadn’t he actually gone down to Leicester?
I’m not sure about the actual details of that, but I was in constant contact with him and so was Victor and everyone else and his agent was also I think helpful in the process to get Jack to stay.
We’re asking all managers, Chelsea have spent a colossal amount of money, what do you make of their spending and how concerned are you about the impact on the league as a whole?
Yeah, I mean, I saw Jurgen Klopp’s response that he needed to have a lawyer present for an answer to that and maybe I should respond the same way that I need Jurgen Klopp’s lawyer here as well. Listen, when teams have the resources and the capability to make big transfers, that's a benefit to them and their fans and the club.
I'm totally focused on us. I'm really thankful to be at a place where we really work together, where we have a vision, where we're committed to putting that that vision into place day after day. In the transfer windows it's never easy, but I think we've had two very, very successful transfer windows, and there's no question that our squad in our team and our club is stronger now than it was a year ago. So that's a good feeling. Now it's my job to take all of the great efforts from our board and from our ownership and from our sports director and now make sure that it continues to add up to the results
Is there envy though?
Envy is not the right word. I've said here often that I would love to be here for a long time. I think in the end as a manager you just want to find a place where you find likeminded people. I think that's what we have here and we have a commitment to do the things that we think are important and valuable to our process and we are aligned and the conversations are not too complex, because there's sometimes small, varying opinions on how to handle little situations. But in the big picture, we're all fully aligned and working diligently together to get stronger and stronger. So that's what as a manager, I look at less like ‘how much money do we have to buy all the players we want’ versus ‘have we created a process and are we internally connected so that we can do everything we can to be successful?’ So in our own way, and I think that's what we have here.
Just on the team news, Jesse. Brenden Aaronson, is he OK?
Yes, yes, he's fine.
On Jack, then, somebody at the club sanctioned that there could be a sale. You want him to stay, I understand he’s happy so who sanctioned the possibility of the sale?
When it came so late and when you looked at how we had spent money that then we were trying to contemplate ‘Okay, is it the right moment’ and Jack was also trying to. I almost think it was a little bit in the moment, a chance for us to really now solidify exactly how we feel about Jack and Jack feels about us and how it's all coming together. And I would say that I don't know that there have been many opportunities where a player has learned how invested a club is in him than this one.
So I think when big offers come in players have to consider what that might be and what that might look like. I don't fault anyone for visiting the possibility of what it can be, but in the end, once we got all the decision makers to align themselves and we all realised Jack has to stay
Even from a footballing point of view, what sense does it make to sell Jack to a rival, knowing your top scorer was injured?
No, you're right. That's a good way to describe it. We felt like Rodri was hurt and Jack’s an important player. He’s performing at a high level. He's played more minutes, I think than any other players since I've been here. I think it was relatively easy. Again, it was late. And so, we just had to get everyone aligned and once we did we made the right decision.
How’s his head, though. Can you see him signing a new deal now knowing that he could have been sold?
Yeah, no, I think his head is really clear because I think it was a chance for everybody to express exactly how important it is. I wish my wife would show a vote of confidence to me the way we did Jack in the last 48 hours.
Overall, how do you manage new additions to get them to a place you want?
This is my job now is to make sure that we integrate everybody that we update everybody on where we are mentally, psychologically, tactically. I think the additions that we brought in, they have in their background and in their formation, some connection to what we're trying to do here. And so because of that, I think the integration process for those three guys has been fairly simple. Now they still have to adapt to the league and what our club is and their teammates and everything else, but I expect that all three of them, we've seen Max make an immediate impact, I think Georgi has shown that as well, and I expect Weston to be able to do the same.
I don’t envy you trying to work out who will play for Forest, is that a difficult process for you?
Yeah, they played 4-2-3-1 Last time out against Man U and I think they rotated a few players. I think we can predict who we're going to see it but there will be some surprises. I believe they played more of a diamond as of late so we're preparing for a diamond 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2. Earlier in the season, they were playing with three in the back. But I think the focus for us on the day is to be at our best, to go to a rival, to go to a team that's fighting with us in the table, a team that we respect in a place that's not easy to play, but a moment for us to show that we're ready for some bigger challenges and that we've grown a lot over the last six weeks. I believe that we have and I'm really excited for the match on Sunday really excited.
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