Is Richarlison available and have you recovered others?
Yes we have. Like I said after the last game Richarlison had a small problem and now he is available. He has been training in this week and he is available.
Any other new injury concerns?
No, no injuries. We recover also Lucas and we are happy to say that because Lucas has been training this week. He played 45 minutes with the young team and is back.
How pleased to see Pedro Porro arrive and could he be in contention to start?
Could be. He is young but he has great experience. He plays in a similar system we use to play and he is available. We can use him in two days. We have another training session. He can improve, he is a great player, technically he is a good player and we were impressed by his performance against us. We know very well him.
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How is Antonio and when is he back?
We don't know yet when Antonio is coming back. Everything is possible. The surgery was good, he is recovering well. At the moment he is at home, so we have two days for the game and everything can happen.
Has he been talking about the game or still recovering?
After the surgery it is normal you don't have the energy to speak about (the game). But immediately when he recover well from the surgery, he call me back and he start to talk about training and the next game.
What is your relationship like with Conte as his assistant, sometimes you get a good and bad cop relationship?
I grow with Antonio like an assistant manager. I was a player with him so I know very well his mentality and what he wants from the team. The way we work linked with Antonio and also with Ryan Mason so everyone in the staff is ready to transfer to the players the idea of Antonio. For me it is easier maybe than some new assistants because I know him very well but Antonio sent me a message and he trusts in us completely. 100 per cent I trust in the staff and we are focused more than normal because we have to do what Antonio normal do but Antonio is happy about our job.
How much of a frightening and concerning week has it been?
We are complaining (about) this situation and we are upset. When we realise the situation, it was Antonio who called me and explained the situation. Last week he had a problem that we thought was illness, not a problem like this. When he discovered this, it was a surprise and he was so sad about this, but we have to keep going and work.
We had the time to speak to Antonio before the surgery about how we prepare and the way to prepare for the next game. Then we have lost him for 12 hours, the time (before and after) for him to have the surgery. The surgery was not difficult and it is important he recovers well. This is the most important thing.
It's a game that's being billed as Kane or Haaland? How do you stop Haaland and is it more than just about them two?
Yes, this is the game you are waiting for and you want to play every time this type of the game. The players are excited to approach this and I feel the players are so focused on this match. It is not a long time we play against them and for sure we have to be worried in the right way, speaking not only about Haaland but all the team they have. It is a great team, maybe the greatest team in the world and they fight every time to win a trophy, so we are scared in the right way. We respect them but we feel and believe we can repeat the same first half we had in the last game and we can do it for 90 minutes.
You've stood in before for Antonio, is this time different, do you have more responsibility?
Yes, I have more responsibility, it is clear this because it never happen before but I feel around myself everyone keep more responsibility and we are so focused. We have meetings every day, like normal we do, and everyone pushes themselves to another level and tries to push themselves to another level to help the team and the players to play a great game on Sunday.
It is a challenge for you to be up against Pep Guardiola?
We cannot compare me and Guardiola. Absolutely it is two teams they have to play and we feel we have a team ready to play against Man City. It is not possible to speak about this.
Manchester City have struggled to score goals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, is that something that can help in your preparation?
it’s not because we play in our stadium it’s because we play against a team who scored four goal in one half last time we played. We have to aware of this and to be ready to play a same game but also a different game. You decide the game in the penalty boxes so it’s very important to play well in those areas.
Antonio is such an emotional, animated character, how do you keep him calm when he does return when he needs to be careful?
I think no one here can keep Antonio calm! So he knows obviously to have surgery and a surprise like he had on Sunday, it's is not easy. He’s an intelligent man so he knows very well what happened to him. It’s not the worst surgery you can have but it’s surgery so you have to be careful and Antonio has to be.
As a coach what have you made of the club's transfer window and the different players you gain and lose from the training ground as well as the dynamic?
I'm not the right person to speak about the transfer market but I am the person that can speak about how we have to say thanks to the players who go to play for another club. Matt Doherty, Bryan Gil and Djed Spence are three great players. We were so happy to work with them and we can only say big thanks to them. They are great players but also great guys.
Every time I'm sad at this time when the transfer window closes because you lose some players and you have some new. You have this balance to be sad and to be excited to work with these new players. We are excited to work with Pedro Porro and Danjuma and we are sad to lose great guys.
Has Antonio given you specific details about training sessions and selection or has he left that down to you?
I repeat it’s a long time since I worked with Antonio and I know him, so maybe it's not the most difficult thing to prepare training or more it's maybe some details the coach has in his idea that sometimes they don't show to everyone. So Antonio explained some details to me to be ready to follow the training and to manage the training. Obviously we speak about the team that has to start on Sunday but we have one day and one training session to analyse perfectly the situation.
Antonio is a very intense, energetic man on the training ground, how do you make sure those energy levels on there are the same without him?
It is a different week because Antonio has a big fire and all the staff have to push themselves to another level to try to transfer to the players the right things. But we are playing a match so difficult so maybe it's easier this week because we have a big beast to challenge and it’s normal that the players are so focused approaching this type of match.
Do you think Antonio will be there for the game?
We don't know yet, the decision will be made tomorrow. We are ready to do everything and Antonio and probably the doctors that did the surgery for him that have to decide. But we have 48 hours, we have two days to decide. We have time.
Is he still in Italy at the moment?
Yes, at the moment.
Son scored two goals last weekend, it's been a difficult season for him, can this moment finally be the one where his season changes?
Every time is the moment the season could change. It depends on him and on the team. They have to feel, all the players, that the season can change in any moment. It’s important the job Son does and is doing very well for the team. He maybe struggling this season a bit to score but he's working well for the team and that's more important.
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