Vincent Kompany looking for stuttering Burnley win at Brentford
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00:00 Hello everyone, thank you. This is to preview the Brentford game,
00:04 the little happening bargain section.
00:06 I'll let you know when we get to it.
00:08 Stevenson, off you go.
00:11 Winston, good afternoon.
00:12 Good afternoon.
00:12 Have you had a good training session? You look like you have.
00:14 Yeah, yeah, we have. The players did.
00:19 We've got to that stage in the season where everybody,
00:21 I think, accepted that your opening fixtures were very difficult.
00:25 Are you now approaching a different phase of the season
00:27 where perhaps the fixtures are a little kinder and where,
00:30 quite frankly, you've got to get results?
00:32 Yeah, I don't think we're in any position to have any arrogance
00:37 about any of the games.
00:39 I think every game would be tough,
00:41 but everybody knows that when you play Man City and these teams,
00:46 they have something extremely special.
00:49 But now we get to, I think, take the learnings from this first period of games
00:56 and just move forward towards, hopefully,
01:00 being good in all the games coming forward.
01:02 What's the one lesson that you and your players have learned,
01:04 would you think, above all others?
01:07 There's plenty, but the biggest thing for us is obviously
01:12 the fact that every moment matters in a Premier League.
01:16 Every moment. And it doesn't matter how you construct it,
01:20 whether you have the ball, they have the ball,
01:22 whether the ball is out of play.
01:24 Every moment matters.
01:26 How pressurised are these games going to come now?
01:28 You've got Brentford away, you've got Bournemouth away.
01:30 Bearing in mind you've got four points from your eight games
01:33 and you've got to try and get points now from these games.
01:36 Is there a little bit of extra pressure starting to build?
01:38 Have you got to deal with that?
01:41 It's always a difficult question to ask me because I've been pretty,
01:46 I don't know if that's an English word,
01:48 but imperiable to pressure throughout my career.
01:52 So I'm not personally focused on that.
01:56 It doesn't really concern me.
01:59 But for the players?
02:01 Maybe, but I look back at even last season,
02:03 what's pressure?
02:04 You know, pressure of having to go back up because you've just been relegated
02:08 or pressure of staying in the best league in the world.
02:10 I don't know. Whichever way I turn it,
02:13 I always think that it's about just as a team being ready on the day
02:19 and making sure that you're fighting for what you think you deserve.
02:27 Do you have to make a conscious effort to have a look
02:30 and see if anybody is feeling the pressure though?
02:34 I think if it happens, you see it.
02:38 And I think as well that you try and create an environment
02:42 where players feel that they're being supported.
02:45 And like I said, pressure, what's pressure?
02:48 Pressure to get in the Champions League,
02:49 pressure to win the league, pressure to win the Champions League.
02:52 It's around every corner, everywhere.
02:55 So those guys are coming back from internationals as well,
02:58 where they've had to play to qualify for a big tournament.
03:02 It's part and parcel of the job.
03:04 Has everybody come back OK?
03:05 And in particular, has Darko Childrenov come back OK?
03:08 Because this is some recovery story, isn't it?
03:11 Yeah, his story was quite scary, to be honest.
03:16 Can you explain what happened to him, please?
03:19 I don't know if I can use the exact medical terms,
03:23 but anyway, we feared for him.
03:25 He got ill.
03:28 This was blood poisoning?
03:31 Unless there's a doctor sat next to me, I'm not venturing there.
03:34 The only thing is he was ill, he was really poorly
03:36 and he lost a lot of weight and lost a lot of muscle.
03:39 We feared at some stage that he might have to take a season out.
03:43 But I think he had the mindset and also probably a little bit of help,
03:50 of treatments and a bit of luck to recover really, really quickly
03:54 and to have him back on the pitches now,
03:56 I think for all of us it's a feeling of relief a little bit.
04:02 And how desperate is he to play now in the Premier League?
04:04 Because he's had game time this week, hasn't he?
04:08 I think that side of things doesn't change from anyone else.
04:11 I think all the players at the club are really committed to being good Premier League players
04:17 and to showing themselves in that league.
04:19 And he's no different.
04:21 And on a lighter note, can I just ask you about the club looking for a drummer
04:25 for Turf Moor just to crank up the atmosphere?
04:28 I know it won't apply for the next couple of games, because you're away.
04:31 What do you think about the atmosphere at Turf Moor?
04:33 Are you in need of a drummer?
04:36 I think we have to separate the two questions.
04:38 Are we in need of a drummer?
04:39 I'll leave other people's answers to this.
04:42 It's for the custodians of this club to come to a decision about the atmosphere at Turf Moor.
04:51 I think it's no secret.
04:53 It's always been a tough place to come to.
04:55 It's always been a place that lived with the game.
05:02 So the two are separated.
05:04 I think it's like everything.
05:06 You always try to improve one percent where you can.
05:10 I think it's for them to decide whether this will actually add this percent.
05:15 Do the players look to the fans for that lift?
05:18 Or is it the other way around?
05:19 Or is it a mixture of both?
05:21 I think especially in England, the way football is experienced,
05:25 I've always known it has to be mutual.
05:28 So when the game has momentum, you get these really good atmospheres in stadiums.
05:35 When the game dies down a little bit,
05:37 it's not necessarily going to turn into a Germany type of thing
05:44 where you've got 5,000 behind the goal just singing because they want to sing 90 minutes.
05:48 It's different.
05:50 But I think people here really live with the momentum of the game.
05:53 That's the case at any place I've ever been in this league.
05:57 I've had a few years playing on all those pitches and also abroad.
06:01 That's maybe the difference, I would say.
06:03 Thanks for your time.
06:04 Stuart?
06:05 Hi there.
06:07 Just on team news, do you have any players coming back who missed out last time?
06:11 The likes of Goodman, Sinner, Benson, Redmond, others?
06:15 Yes, there's quite a few players coming back.
06:21 I think they're at different stages.
06:24 So to make a decision whether they're ready for the battle on Saturday or not,
06:31 that's going to be the next 48 hours to decide.
06:35 You've obviously had quite a few players away on international duty at various age groups.
06:40 But do you see that, even though you lost players,
06:42 do you see that as a positive that they have received international recognition?
06:47 Yes, I mean, for a Premier League side, if no one wants your player, that's a problem.
06:51 I think they're doing well.
06:57 I think we had a goal of Zeki with Switzerland.
07:03 We spoke about pressure.
07:06 So it's all experience gained as well.
07:08 They go in these moments representing their country.
07:11 It's experience gained.
07:13 And that's the value you have to see in it, if they stay fit, of course.
07:16 Brentford this weekend.
07:19 Their success over the past couple of seasons, since they got promoted,
07:22 finishing in the top half last year,
07:24 can that be almost a template for other promoted clubs like Birmingham?
07:29 I think the template of whether it's Brentford, Brighton,
07:37 because it's more than just a season, of course, now,
07:41 I think it'll be named as a template by many teams coming up in years to come.
07:50 And the goal is always to better what's been done before.
07:54 But it's step by step.
07:56 I think year one for us is not about focusing yet what Brentford has done
08:01 and what Brighton has done.
08:02 It's just our own journey.
08:04 But we're convinced that we've got an exciting squad for now,
08:09 but for the future as well, that will keep getting stronger.
08:12 And that's our model.
08:16 And finally for me, obviously, you've got games to worry about,
08:19 but are the club already looking at January and the possibility of strengthening?
08:25 Always, always.
08:27 But I think it's a different department of the club.
08:30 I think it's a full-time operation, 12 months a year.
08:36 But as well, a big part of the job is to make sure that the players that you have,
08:40 that you're working with, that they reach the next level,
08:46 and not just relying on the market.
08:49 Thanks, Stuart. Scott, for your lines.
08:52 Hi there.
08:53 Hi.
08:54 Did you have a little drink?
08:55 Yeah, a little bit.
08:58 I've just been training.
09:00 Just going back to Darko, did you try and shield the players
09:06 from the extent of his illness,
09:09 or were you quite open with everybody as to what was going on?
09:12 I spoke to the captains,
09:18 because I felt they should know or get in touch.
09:24 But then as well, it happened in a period where the group wasn't really together.
09:29 It happened over the holiday time leading into pre-season very early on.
09:35 So it was a little bit of a different group at the time as well,
09:39 and it was just making sure that those who were there with him,
09:42 that they were aware of it.
09:44 Is it quite a difficult balance to get right?
09:46 Because you want to keep everybody informed,
09:48 you want to keep his friends informed, his teammates informed,
09:51 but I guess not overwhelm them a little bit.
09:56 No, I mean, it's part of the things that happen in life.
09:59 So I think we were feeling...
10:06 I mean, it was a big period of fear and scare,
10:09 but I think as the pre-season started,
10:12 we became quite confident that he could recover.
10:18 And that for us was then a turning point as well,
10:20 in terms of making sure that at that moment in time,
10:23 it's just about integration again,
10:25 making sure he's with the lads whenever he can.
10:28 And we did that as soon as we could.
10:30 Have you had any good news this international break,
10:32 with regards to players coming back?
10:34 You lost Jordan Bear just before the Chelsea match.
10:36 Is he back involved or is it too early for him?
10:39 And what's the extent of his injury to you?
10:42 All I can say is that, again, we feared the worst.
10:47 It's always the way you look at it.
10:50 He's not back yet, but we don't think the extent is dramatic.
10:55 And for us, we hope we can...
10:57 I mean, he's progressing well within his rehab.
11:00 What's he done?
11:02 It did a little bit of damage, landing wrong.
11:08 And, yes, we knew he was going to be out for a few weeks,
11:15 but we thought it could have been worse in maybe a few months.
11:18 A real shame because Jordan and Al-Dakhil
11:21 had just started to play a little sequence of games together.
11:24 It came when you got the points at Forest,
11:26 the win at Luton.
11:27 They were just starting to develop there, weren't they?
11:29 Yes, but in the end, that's why you build a squad.
11:34 Sometimes the players that don't play,
11:38 they want to be able to show as well what they can do.
11:42 That's why you have a squad.
11:45 Is it preferable, when you were playing, for example,
11:48 to have quite a settled defensive partnership where possible?
11:53 Depends what period of my career you would have asked me.
11:57 The last three years of my career at City,
12:00 it could be anyone, any back four, any time, any game,
12:05 so any position.
12:07 And then, obviously, earlier on in my career,
12:10 I was brought up a little bit more with that
12:13 cliche of having a settled back four.
12:15 In the end, I think the conclusion is it's a balance.
12:21 But you don't get that balance.
12:24 Last year, we didn't get it as well,
12:26 especially with a new group when you're trying to...
12:29 because you know you have to get the group ready
12:31 for the Premier League level,
12:32 so it comes with giving new players a chance as well.
12:34 Otherwise, what's the point of bringing them in?
12:37 You don't get that balance in the beginning.
12:39 And then when injuries come in as well,
12:42 then that throws in something that, obviously,
12:45 we have to deal with.
12:46 It obviously has been a pretty brutal start
12:48 with the fixtures you've had, especially at home.
12:51 The results you've picked up this season have been a way,
12:53 and against teams who potentially could be in and around you
12:56 this season.
12:57 Which means we're going to have to play them at home again as well.
13:00 Indeed.
13:01 How big a confidence boost was that, though,
13:04 to go to Forest and get a point,
13:05 to go to Luton and win when potentially
13:07 they could be teams battling with you?
13:09 Look, the truth of it was that both games were very tough.
13:14 But both games were also games in which we had the chance.
13:19 And I think that's the starting point of this league.
13:23 When you go into too many games
13:24 and you don't feel you've got any chance at all,
13:27 I think that you could be in trouble then.
13:31 But in our case, we feel that there's certainly a chunk of games
13:35 where this felt like a level that we can claim to be in.
13:43 But we'll have to prove it on the pitch now.
13:45 Brentford, I think are three points above you.
13:48 Would you expect them to be well clear of relegation this season?
13:52 Honestly, I don't know.
13:54 It's hard to predict.
13:55 Maybe in two or three months' time, it'll be clear.
13:59 Also, I think for us, it's our first round of games against every team.
14:05 So we'll see what the full picture is later on.
14:09 Just going back to the drummer, Vincent,
14:11 you're quite a high-profile Premier League figure.
14:13 You must have a drummer in your phone book?
14:16 Not necessarily my pool of friends, no.
14:22 No?
14:23 No, the drummer's side.
14:25 I don't go out enough for that.
14:27 Cheers, Vincent.
14:28 Matt, we'll go to the back.
14:30 Remi from the Stonehouse, is that in the book?
14:33 Remi from the Stonehouse, is that in that book?
14:37 No, not on speed dial anyway.
14:41 Hi, Vincent.
14:43 Alderkeel had to withdraw from the Belgium squad.
14:46 How's he doing? Is that a serious one?
14:48 Obviously, he withdrew because at half-time against Chelsea,
14:53 he couldn't continue.
14:54 But I think luckily as well, the news is quite positive for him.
14:59 So again, a decision to make by Saturday.
15:02 Are you a bit light on options at centre-back,
15:04 obviously with Ekdahl and Beirut as well?
15:08 No, I wouldn't say so.
15:13 But it would definitely help to just be able to be a little bit more settled.
15:21 But injuries happen, you don't always control that.
15:24 And always as long as the players are not missing for massive chunks of the season,
15:29 that's always a little bit hopeful for us.
15:32 You said the international break would be a good time to assess where you're at.
15:36 How do you reflect on the start of the season?
15:39 I'm past reflecting now.
15:43 You should have asked me this last week.
15:46 I'm locked into Brentford now.
15:50 But I think the key part is, some of the points have already been mentioned here,
15:55 but it's difficult in a sense.
16:02 The conclusion is that there's a gap to...
16:07 There's a gap that we need to make up with the top, top teams, the elite teams.
16:22 Because in the end, you mentioned how Forest away,
16:27 which is a tough away game in its own,
16:29 which is a tough away game as you see this season.
16:32 But I think it's important to be good in those games.
16:36 But in the end, you want to pick up your points against the top teams as well.
16:39 And there, there's been moments that's cost us.
16:42 And that's where we have to grow to.
16:44 But I always said this about the team.
16:46 What's exciting with the team we have is that I do think there's that balance
16:50 between being able to have results now,
16:53 but also just making sure that in the future,
16:56 we're able to get results against the big teams as well.
16:59 Finally, Eden Hazard, someone you know well, announced his retirement.
17:03 Have you spoken to him? And how good a player was he?
17:06 Got in touch with his brother.
17:10 And so it will follow.
17:14 But how good a player he was, I don't know.
17:16 I remember him coming into his first training session in the national team.
17:20 I think he was, if I remember, I think he was there already against Luxembourg,
17:24 but I was injured for the first time.
17:26 I think I saw him was Norway away in training.
17:29 And you thought, who is this kid?
17:33 You know, like way too confident.
17:35 It was really at that time he hadn't proven anything.
17:38 And you think, who is this kid?
17:41 You know, and so in training, you think I'll show him a little bit.
17:44 And then in the first couple of actions, luckily not me,
17:47 but someone else gets done and you're like, hang on a second.
17:50 I need to be a little bit.
17:52 I need to be aware of this kid, what's happening here.
17:55 And then within two or three sessions straight away,
17:58 I knew this player is special.
18:01 And there was a moment for me where he knows it himself.
18:06 He was right underneath that bracket of Ronaldo's and Messi's.
18:10 I'm not saying part of it because I don't know how.
18:13 But, you know, what the top players have had is that consistency across 10, 15 years.
18:19 It's probably the only thing that's missed to his talent.
18:23 But in the end, still a wonderful career for a country, Belgium,
18:27 where we didn't expect to produce these kind of players.
18:30 And we had one of the magicians of the game.
18:33 Thank you, Matt.
18:34 Okay, everyone, the embargo section now, please.
18:36 10.30 on Friday night.
18:38 Please, there's a microphone behind you, Mr Anderson, if you're leaving.
18:42 Oh.
18:48 Right, I'm out of that.
18:52 These games coming up, we've spoken a lot about the possibility of getting points.
18:56 But is it important to put the message out that we're not just thinking that we're going to get the three points.
19:01 They're going to be a lot easier than the other ones.
19:03 You see, you have to have respect in the Premier League.
19:06 Yeah, especially us.
19:08 Tell me which promoter team has ever come in guns blazing in the Premier League.
19:12 It doesn't happen that way.
19:16 We're in a division where every game is extremely difficult for us.
19:20 So we go to Brentford, we went to Forest, we went to Luton.
19:24 The games were really tough.
19:26 And you can't win every tough game.
19:28 And in that mindset, you have to be prepared for every outcome,
19:33 but as well believe that we can go and win these games and the other ones as well in the future.
19:41 So in that sense, is it more or less what you expect it to be?
19:44 You've got the four points from the two games you felt that were on your level.
19:47 All the ones were maybe a bit harder.
19:49 So people say, oh, look, you've had the awful home record.
19:52 You're certainly relegated.
19:53 But you need to have a proper perspective on things.
19:58 Honestly, I haven't really.
20:02 Whatever has been doesn't need to be the future, right?
20:07 So that's the role of a coach.
20:09 It's to make sure that what you need to improve on, you improve on
20:13 and make sure you get the results with Homer away.
20:19 So we're not focused too much on that in terms of, yes, there were tough games,
20:24 but they're in the past.
20:25 The rest are also tough games.
20:27 But I look at the team and the more I work with them,
20:31 the more I feel that they're going to have their moments as well.
20:35 And then just lastly on Downing, he's making his comeback after a top Liverpool game.
20:40 He's going to be fourth official at Brentford.
20:43 Have you any concerns over that or any comments?
20:45 How do you feel?
20:47 No, other than mistakes are human.
20:54 There's nothing I can say more.
20:55 I've put my position at that time.
20:58 I like the fact that there's transparency and that people come forward
21:02 on the mistakes, that we get access to the footage.
21:05 There's transparency.
21:07 For me, that's important.
21:08 And the rest, there might be a trend here where we do get the young referees
21:14 who need to learn Premier League game time
21:16 or we get the guys who are just coming back and easing their way in again.
21:20 But I'm sure with time and better results, that can change.
21:29 But in the end, for him personally, we all make mistakes.
21:36 Hi Vinnie, I just wanted to ask about James Trafford.
21:41 I suppose we call it a bit of a baptism of fire here.
21:44 It's been a difficult start in terms of the matches he's had to face.
21:47 How do you feel he's stepped up from League One, I suppose?
21:52 Yeah, but he's never looked out of place.
21:56 If you look back at the goals we've conceded,
22:00 I think three of the goals we've conceded were in goal of the month.
22:03 So it's just been that type of start for us.
22:10 But I think moving forward, I'm used to working with players like him.
22:16 You look at character, you look at technical ability,
22:21 understanding of the game.
22:22 So he'll be a top goalkeeper that will please many English fans in the future.
22:28 There was a report as well, Vinnie, this week that a club in Germany are looking at Murich.
22:32 How hard has it been for him to step aside after last season?
22:37 Yeah, I mean for goalkeepers, you go around every club in the Premier League.
22:45 Every club has got one or two really great goalkeepers.
22:48 There was no reason for us to have it any different.
22:52 Of course, Aro has done really well for us last season in the Championship.
22:58 He's part of the players who are having to compete for the place.
23:02 He's not the only one.
23:03 I think as well that in terms of...
23:05 Because I've known Aro for a long time as well, not just since now,
23:08 but since he was a young player.
23:10 I think he's shown a lot of maturity.
23:14 He's shown an understanding of the job.
23:17 Whenever he's been called upon, he's given exactly what he needed to do.
23:21 Hi, Vinnie.
23:26 Just to continue on that theme, we've talked a lot about players learning the league
23:30 and adapting to the league.
23:31 Does it differ from goalkeepers that outfield players in that development?
23:35 Because I guess a goalkeeper, there's a lot of responsibility on that type of position.
23:40 Everyone has to start some day.
23:45 I think in the beginning you almost have to factor in that.
23:49 It's the same for defenders.
23:51 You've got 10, 15...
23:53 Keepers and defenders, you don't prove yourself in one game.
23:58 Strikers do.
23:59 You score a hat-trick and everybody writes about you.
24:01 But keepers and defenders, the more it gets quiet, the better you're doing your job.
24:06 You've got to just take your time and do the work, do the job.
24:11 That's all it is.
24:12 Eventually, you get recognised for it.
24:15 But the recognition usually comes at the end of the season, much later.
24:19 We talked last season about playing out from the back element
24:23 and the positives outweighing the negatives.
24:25 When you take this step up, how much more of a challenge is it
24:30 to play the way you want to play out from the back
24:33 and be able to manipulate opponents in the way you were able to do last season with Depressin?
24:40 Take the three teams that went up, three completely different styles.
24:47 Take the two other teams that are in and around us, above us,
24:50 completely different styles.
24:51 Take the three teams that went down last year,
24:54 completely different styles during the course of the season.
24:58 Three or four they tried.
24:59 In the end, like I said, you've got to be good in every moment in this league.
25:05 That's the key message.
25:09 There's nothing more to it.
25:11 I was trying to think how I can develop this point,
25:17 but I felt I don't need to.
25:18 I'm actually giving you the answer.
25:20 In terms of the way you've built from the back,
25:23 have you been happy with how your team is trying to do it
25:26 and develop and attack on situations which you were so good at last season?
25:31 Our goals have come from these moments, right?
25:36 Our chances, big chances have come from these moments.
25:39 We get into situations where we're one-on-one with the goalkeeper as well
25:44 because of these moments.
25:45 It's just a part of it.
25:47 For me, and I said it last season,
25:50 I want the team to enjoy defending as well
25:53 and recovering the ball and then creating chances from that
25:57 because obviously not every team you can dominate as much in this league
26:02 and teams are more aggressive, more willing to open up.
26:08 But that's the opportunities you want to use as well.
26:11 But I think in everything you do,
26:14 it doesn't really...
26:15 I think the style discussion is something where it's like religion.
26:20 It's a belief system.
26:21 So you look for solutions within what you believe in.
26:26 But when you're a Premier League team or anywhere in the world,
26:29 it's to improve to the level of who you're playing against.
26:33 And of course, you've got to have at least an idea of how you want to do it.
26:37 That's the most important.
26:38 most important. Perfect, thank you.