Ryan Mason addressed the room first: Before we start I'd just like to congratulate our Under-18s from our academy because they won the Under-18s Premier League cup last night. Backed the Under-17s up. It's important and good for the football club.
What's the latest injury news?
Hugo's out for the season. We had the results back. Obviously disappointing, but we kind of feared that initially. We did some more tests and he won't play for us again this season.
Will Lloris be here next season?
I can't speak about next season but what I can say is that he has a very important role for us until the end of the season. We need him. We need him to be part of the group and I'm sure he will be.
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Is Rodrigo Bentancur on track?
These types of injuries you have to be very careful with. We see sometimes they can reoccur. We're assessing him day by day. He's making progress but it's probably too early to set a return date.
Would that affect summer business?
Not sure on that one. Maybe in the summer there'll be conversations and discussions. We're all aware in this football club that we have three and a half weeks to finish the season as strongly as possible on the football pitch, and that's our main focus.
Have you been kept updated on the new manager search?
I'm sure naturally when there's uncertainty there are going to be names. That's football, that's part of it. But none of my energy is going into any outside noise or speculation. Within these walls we're working together and have a common goal, and that's trying to get as many results as possible before the end of the season. I'm sure in the summer things will happen but at the moment that's pretty irrelevant.
What a job Roy Hodgson's doing down there?
Amazing. Amazing. I will obviously always have a soft spot for Roy Hodgson because he gave me my England debut. So I will always be thankful for that. But of course we are playing Crystal Palace in a very good moment, probably their best moment of the season. We understand it will be a difficult match but at the same time we're confident in our stadium with our fans that we can get a result.
Does it show that Roy still has a lot to offer?
Yeah of course. Recent results and performances suggest that. I think the most important thing in football is if you have the fire inside you and if you can influence players, and he's definitely got that still.
If you lose and Manchester United draw and mathematically you cannot qualify for the Champions League, do you have to make sure you don't lose this weekend?
It's important we win the game. The only thing we can do is take care ourselves and the league table will take care of itself at the end of the season because it doesn't lie. We've had a very up and down season & many things have happened. It's no secret we're disappointed with how it's gone but it's not over yet, we've still got a lot to fight for and we all know that.
How important is the Brentford double-header with the women's team playing after?
It's great for women's football. The National Team have done this country proud and helped grow the game. If we can help contribute as well, it's great. We want to do that because it's important for this country and women's football as well.
You wanted to unify the club - how's that going?
That's a process. It takes time. What we can see from the first two performances is that we've got a group working hard for each other. Sometimes you don't get results you deserve but inside these walls we feel together and we'll need to do that until the end of the season but also in years to come. It's important for any football club to be together and create that feeling where everyone is aligned: the fans, the players, the group. That's key to being successful.
There seems to be more energy, more attacks under you, how have you changed that?
It was a difficult moment to come in. I said at the time we didn't have a great deal of time to change much and we don't have a great deal of time to be honest. What you can do is get inside the players and try to influence that. In the United game to go 2-0 down in the circumstances and come back is a positive, and we felt that, and then if we take away the disastrous 15 minutes at Anfield, I thought we were outstanding. So there's something we can take from that. But ultimately you have to win games, it's a results business and we're keen to do that.
Roy Hodgson's Palace is different, are you surprised?
Not surprising because sometimes from the outside you don't understand what's going on on the inside, and he obviously feels like that's right for this moment in time. And in past times he felt the best opportunity for getting results was a different approach. That's part of managing, part of coaching. The job is to get a result on the day and I'll never criticise someone for trying to get a result in a different style.
How is this team different to Palace from earlier this season?
I think just a different energy, maybe a different feeling. He has not been in there too long to change massive amounts but what he has probably changed is the mindset, the mentality. I don't know. What he has done is do a very good job. They've got results and scored a lot of goals. They've got some exceptional individuals and we have to be aware of that, so we understand what we're coming up against.
Harry Kane has got 25 Premier League goals, what an achievement is it to get that and still not win golden boot?
If you take the goals away in my opinion he has still probably been one of the best players in the Premier League in terms of consistent performances. I would say that for the last three or four years as well. He is at the top of his game, we understand that, we feel that and I am sure everyone that comes to our stadium to watch us and Harry Kane feels that too.
Will we see Yves Bissouma again this season?
We hope so. There are obviously some hurdles he has got to overcome and to hit some certain goals but we are hopeful he will appear before the end of the season.
Is there any temptation to switch to a back four now Ben Davies is back or is it too late to make such a big change?
I am not sure. We are training this afternoon so we have got some decisions to make. Ultimately for us it is a collective to try to keep clean sheets and win games of football. Systems and formations, yeah they can help and can change some things but the desire of the 11 players on the pitch to have a common goal and work together is probably the most important thing.
Pedro Porro is new to this league and the pace and physicality of defending in it, have worked with him on anything specifically?
We have had very little time to work as a group. Last week we had two games in three or four days so that time was limited. The most important thing for me with Pedro is he has got a great attitude. He wants to learn, wants to improve and I am sure we will see him become a better player in the coming years.
Despite the academy's success, there's a feeling that the pathway to the first team has not been as clear in recent years as it was before? How does the club change that?
First of all you have to be good enough. That's a challenge to any of our academy players. It is a big step up to the first team and we want them to aspire to that. We need academy players. We see it now, we've got Harry Kane, we've got Skippy, we've got others in the squad that are helping. I understand and the club certainly understand the value in that.
It's not as easy as just giving them the opportunity. We are hopeful and I am hopeful that if we work in the way that we want to, and if we have consistency in that, then maybe we will start to see that a little bit more.
Are you concerned that young players might leave if they feel there's little chance of game time, Romaine Mundle being one potential example with his contract running down? Do they need game time or the prospect of it to be convinced to stay?
Not for me because I made my Premier League debut at 23 and my dream and aspiration was to play for Tottenham Hotspur. That never wavered. I never thought about leaving. The most important thing for our academy players is to feel like they're part of the club and they want to be here. If they want to be here then great we can work with them, improve them and hopefully help them have careers in the game. Ultimately though if players don't want to be at the club, that's their decision.
Can you update us on the other injuries to Sessegnon and Royal?
Ryan had a significant injury, he's been out for a long time so Ryan won't feature again this season. Emerson I think it is a day to day check on how he is and how he's coping. Hopefully Emerson can help us between now and end of the season.
What are the sort of things you've been able to work on now you've had a proper week with the players?
I don't think I'm being unreasonable here but these type of things stay inside the training ground. There's tactical elements that I think are important to keep between us. I think it's important for any management team or coach to have time to work and change some things. Obviously we've had three or four training days this week to create a different approach, but ultimately the most important thing is to win this game of football. We feel that, we know that and that's our main focus.
There has been a lot of criticism of the players desire, what's been your impression of them in your time so far?
I've never criticised our players. We can see them day to day. I have massive belief in this group that we can be better than what we are now. If you don't have character, then you don't come from 3-0 down at Anfield in manner we did and create as many chances we did. We know there's character in the group and we just need to channel that to win games of football and hopefully we can do that.
Spurs are on track to concede the most goals they ever have in a Premier League season, what do you put that down to?
It's a combination of everything. I think the most important thing is between the ears because I think we proved last season that we can keep clean sheets. We started this season reasonably well, although I know we had a spell when we were going 2-0 down quite a bit, but we were still a strong team. We still are a strong team. I think in football things can change quite quickly. Most important the head space you're in, the mental approach and how you feel is probably something we're keen to change.
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