Paul Heckingbottom pre-Watford

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Transcript

00:00Deepdale is quite a special place at night, do you feel it a little bit against Fulham?

00:03I know the crowd wasn't huge, but it's a good place to play in.

00:07Good place, good stadium, good atmosphere and we want it to be that way.

00:12We want Walford to come up here and whoever it is,

00:17whoever the opposition are in front of us, like I keep saying,

00:20if we prepare to play our game and perform as well as we can be and get the fans behind us,

00:25then it will be a difficult place to come for anyone.

00:27Was there anything new when you look back at Saturday and spoke to the players about why it was like that?

00:32Liam just mentioned running stats being down, are you challenging them fitness-wise to go to new levels?

00:37We have been, we've produced probably the biggest numbers they've done for a long time in the first few games.

00:42So, again, it's a reminder when you drop off.

00:45Listen, not all games call for that.

00:47So, for example, Fulham at times, our high-speed running sprint distance is not as high as other games

00:54because we had to be compact and the game was very different.

00:59So, all different types of games, depending on what tactical problems are posed,

01:04do produce different results.

01:06But certain things that the players saw where they understand what I'm talking about,

01:10where we need to bring our intensity to make sure we have an impact on the game,

01:14which we didn't do.

01:15I guess you knew when you came, you'd have moments where you really learn about the squad,

01:19but you need points alongside it, don't you, balancing those two things?

01:23Yes, I think long-term you want to try and create an identity and change performances

01:28because that's ultimately what's going to help you out-compete teams, maybe with more resources.

01:33We know that.

01:35But short-term, it's always about the next game and getting three points.

01:39Yes, we want to start putting in, we've produced some real strong performances,

01:43had probably more draws than I'd have liked and a couple of defeats, which I'm not happy about.

01:48So, yes, we want three points and that has to be the aim then, transferring performances into points.

01:55I listened to you say you want the team to reflect you more, with time,

01:59what kind of traits, would that be, just being more aggressive and all those things you tried to bring?

02:04Yes, so I think, for example, if you look at the game on Saturday, we dominated the ball.

02:15If you look at how many real big moments and big chances came from us dominating the ball

02:18and almost walking the ball into the net, it's very difficult to do that.

02:23You can dominate the ball to control the game and get to the top end of the pitch,

02:27then risk possession, lose the ball but be aggressive, win it back

02:29and then you're more likely to create an opportunity.

02:31So, yes, that part of the game was different to what we have been producing.