Eddie Howe pleased with win over former club Burnley

Burnley Express

Eddie Howe was pleased with his sides performance in the victory over Burnley.

Transcript

00:00 You're right, I'm not going to agree with that.

00:07 There's no such thing.

00:08 It was a tough game.

00:10 We anticipated a tough game.

00:12 I think Burnley are a really interesting team.

00:16 I think Vincent's done a great job,

00:17 and we knew we had to be really good today because they play a very open style,

00:24 but it's a dangerous style if you're not perfect on your press or whatever your game

00:29 plan that you intend to deliver.

00:30 You have to deliver it well.

00:32 I thought we did, probably after the first 10 minutes where we were a little bit slow

00:36 out the blocks.

00:37 I thought we recovered really well and I thought we deserved to win.

00:40 Dominic?

00:41 Yes, Callum's got a very minor hamstring problem.

00:49 We hope he'll be back soon.

00:51 We hope we see him before the international break, but there's no guarantee.

00:56 And the same with Sven, not that it's a hamstring, but he's got a knee problem.

00:59 Again, I don't think we will see Sven before the international break,

01:03 but hopefully we'll see him very quickly afterwards.

01:06 Is there any news on Julian as well?

01:08 Looks like a hamstring, and that would be a huge blow if we lose him,

01:14 but we'll wait and see.

01:15 One more positive, no big arm block, scored again,

01:18 goal we've seen him score many times.

01:21 When he's on this type of ball, are there many better players in the Premier League

01:24 than him doing what he does?

01:26 No, he's a unique footballer.

01:28 And as you say, I don't think there is anyone better at doing what he does.

01:32 So all energy, all action.

01:34 I'd like to see his physical stats today because I'm sure they'll be through the roof.

01:38 The quality shown on his finish was very reminiscent of some of the goals

01:43 he scored last year, as you said.

01:44 And it's a great return to form for Miggy and he's such an important player for us.

01:50 Jordan, and then Ian.

01:52 Five consecutive clean sheets is not just the boredom and pleasantness,

01:56 there's a windswept.

01:58 It is.

01:58 I said before, it was the foundation of our success last year, our defensive resilience.

02:04 We pride ourselves on it, the players pride themselves on it.

02:11 I think we've got some really good defenders at the football club.

02:13 I think it's the type of stat with five clean sheets that the whole team deserve credit,

02:16 because you can see today it's not just one element of the team or unit of the team

02:20 that's working well, it's everyone together.

02:23 And that gives you a great chance to win games if you're not conceding goals.

02:28 Did Anthony Bourne pick up his yellow policy until he was suspended next week?

02:32 Yes, an absolute killer for us because Anthony's been in great form and he's been excellent.

02:46 He's added so much to the team that you don't want to take that out,

02:49 especially with the rhythm that he's in.

02:50 It goes into the fact that you're going into an international break,

02:54 so that'll be quite a while since he won't play for.

02:57 So, yes, it's a big blow and probably a needless yellow card.

03:01 Ahead of Argyle, your biggest game so far this season,

03:05 without three of your biggest players, it's going to be pretty difficult.

03:09 One of your top midfielders, top defenders, Hans Frank...

03:12 Yes, and I think you add Joe Willock to that list.

03:18 It's a difficult moment for us injury-wise, but it's that kind of season for us with the

03:23 physical demands that we're going to face. We don't want any injury. Any injury really hurts us,

03:28 but it is what it is. We have to deal with it. We have to be resilient and deal

03:33 with the challenges that will come. We just hope we can get those players back very quickly.

03:38 We were perhaps worried about the stretch in depth for your squad

03:44 before the start of the season. You've compared yourselves to the other teams

03:46 that have established the top four. You must be really pleased with how some of those players

03:50 are stepping in. The sales are getting good today, Hilly Anderson again...

03:53 Yes, I think we've always believed we've got some really good players here. I think that the problem

04:00 for us with the amount of games we have is if we get injuries in one area.

04:04 Unfortunately, at the moment, we've got all attackers plus Fenn injured, which is a blow

04:12 that's going to stretch us. But hopefully with the international break coming, it'll be a good time,

04:16 fingers crossed, to get the majority of them back if we can. Then our squad will look really,

04:20 really strong. As you say, the players that have come in, it's great for them,

04:23 a great experience for them. I think they have done well.

04:26 And that will lift us long-term. That's a great thing for us to see.

04:30 Five games unbeaten, that probably sets up Paris Saint-Germain,

04:34 Champions League type of a league?

04:36 Yes, I think if we can go into any of these Champions League games that we face

04:39 in a confident mood, in good form and good rhythm, it gives us the best chance of being successful.

04:45 We want to carry that as long as we can. I think we're in a good moment.

04:49 We're, as I said earlier, defensively very good. We look like we can score.

04:54 We should have scored more today. So I think the mood is very strong.

04:58 Just on Elliot, specifically, what do you think he's added to his game to make him into now a

05:09 fundamental part of your Premier League team, compared to maybe where he was at, say,

05:12 12 months ago? I mean, clearly he's physically developed, but what else have you seen?

05:16 Yes, physically, definitely, he's developed. I think he's become more robust.

05:20 He picked up a lot of niggly hamstring injuries, thigh injuries last year, which really set him back.

05:26 They didn't really turn out to be too serious in the end, any of them, but they were just...

05:30 he was out for one week, two weeks. Now he looks really strong.

05:33 But I think he's added just a little bit more know-how to his game.

05:37 It's very difficult for young players to come in and know how to act in every moment of the match,

05:41 depending whether you're on top, whether you're not on top.

05:43 But he's, through probably training and experiences that he's faced here,

05:49 I think he's just added a little bit more know-how to the talent, the obvious talent that he has.

05:52 And he's become reliable, and that's a big thing for me, to be able to trust him to play,

05:57 knowing that he won't let us down in any phase.

05:59 And I think you can be really proud of his recent efforts.

06:01 He's a big part of your midfield mix, because you've got midfielders who can do lots of

06:07 different jobs in some ways, he can kind of do all of them, can't he?

06:11 He can tackle, he can burst, he can pass, he can kind of do a bit of everything.

06:16 So he can play as a six, he can play as an eight, he can come to play as a ten?

06:20 He can definitely play as a ten, he can definitely play as an eight, as a six,

06:24 I'm not so sure at this moment in time, but maybe long-term.

06:27 I think he would say his biggest strengths is creativity and goals and assists and product.

06:33 I think he's got a really attacking instinct.

06:35 But I think when you first come into the team, you have to bring everything,

06:39 otherwise you won't survive.

06:41 And I think he's adapted really well to bringing the off-the-ball things that you talk about,

06:44 the physical strength.

06:46 But I think long-term he will show his qualities.

06:48 I've got no doubt about that.

06:50 Thanks for bringing that up.

06:59 OK, thank you.

07:00 Yeah, that wasn't good.

07:02 I said before, it never is when we lose.

07:04 It doesn't matter whether it's the third loss in a row or the first loss in a while,

07:09 because it brings you back to that feeling that you want to escape as a manager.

07:13 And I've said before, that feeling drives me to work as hard as I do to try and bring success

07:18 for me and the football club.

07:20 So that was a pretty disappointing night, yeah.

07:26 Since there's five unbeaten, four clean sheets, four wins,

07:31 a draw with AC McLaren, a win against Man City,

07:34 how have you managed to get such an infatuated response from the players?

07:38 I don't know if there's any one thing.

07:40 I think the players had to go sort of inward and look at themselves.

07:46 And as always, you have to come out after a disappointment.

07:49 You have to come out fighting.

07:51 There's no other reaction.

07:52 You can't sulk, you can't moan or whinge or worry.

07:55 You just have to do the work and then come back.

07:58 I think the international break was really good for us.

08:00 I thought we did some really, really good work in that two weeks for the players that were here.

08:03 Then the international boys came back in and that first win against Brentford,

08:07 although it was a tough game, was so, so important for us.

08:11 And I think then we've been able to build on that.

08:13 But great character from the group because time and time again,

08:17 they find an answer when needed, and that's got to be a big quality of ours.

08:21 So when you look at the second half against Man City, the Sheffield United game today,

08:25 is that the team at its best?

08:26 I think we need to show, I've said this so many times as well,

08:32 we need to show different faces, that there'll never be one aspect that,

08:35 you know, the goal scoring against Sheffield United was great.

08:37 The mentality to continue to score was great.

08:40 But then there's other games, Manchester City first half, where we absolutely had to dig in.

08:44 And we didn't have the ball much and we just had to go, right, we're not going to concede,

08:49 get through to half-time and then hopefully change the game.

08:51 And it's been adaptable and knowing what qualities you need in what moment.

08:55 And I think the players deserve huge credit for doing that.

08:57 Not really, because, yes, I was down after the Brighton game, but I wasn't,

09:07 you know, speaking to people, I wasn't like,

09:11 not communicating or I was just very, very focused on, right,

09:17 we've got problems to solve, how do we go and solve them?

09:19 So very proactive, but obviously my mood wasn't one of extreme happiness.

09:25 And it won't be tonight because I know now we've got PSG coming up and

09:28 the focus then has to be on how can we beat them?

09:30 A few quick ones just to finish, we've had some companies waiting for us.

09:34 Jacob?

09:35 And it's been five games in 15 days,

09:37 have a few injuries picked up after that?

09:39 During the week, Vincent and Pep Guardia also talked about putting a cap on

09:44 totally normal appearances from players during the season.

09:46 Is that a perspective you could empathise with given in the recent periods?

09:50 Yeah, I think I was asked this on Friday and I don't know, I've not given it any thought really.

09:55 I do think we need to protect the players that play the most games.

09:59 However we do that, I don't know.

10:02 It's more than, we go through a really busy period until the international break

10:06 and then a lot of our internationals go off and play more games.

10:08 I think it's probably harder for those lads than it is for everyone else.

10:13 Craig?

10:14 Oh, that's nice, Craig.

10:18 That is lovely.

10:21 Jürgen?

10:22 Yeah, I certainly hope we're not laying out any mats for anybody.

10:35 I think we're determined to try and do well and one thing I know I'm absolutely certain about is

10:41 the atmosphere will be as good as I've ever experienced here.

10:46 I know the supporters will get behind us and then

10:49 whatever we do from there will depend on what happens afterwards.

10:52 We're really looking forward to it, we're looking forward to the challenge that it will bring.

10:55 I've already started my preparation for the game and

10:59 it's going to be an extreme test but one that we can't wait for.

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