Dyche on Nottingham Forest and former player Chris Wood's prolific form

Dyche on Nottingham Forest and former player Chris Wood's prolific form  26/12/2024 embargoed until 27/12/2024  Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK

Transcript

00:00Sean, on the back of a really good draw at City, just talk us through your thoughts on Forest,

00:05because they seem to have been, in many people's eyes, the surprise package this year, your old club of course.

00:10Yeah, I think like most, we've been impressed by what they've been doing,

00:14very organised, working to play on the counter and break and defend well,

00:19and they've done that very well.

00:22They're brought to life, Woodie I know well, the goals he's been scoring,

00:26and they've turned into a very strong outfit.

00:28So, certainly like most in the Premier League, we've got to make sure we're delivering,

00:32and we had a good point at City, a valid point, similar against Chelsea, similar against Arsenal,

00:38and a good win against Wolves, but we've got to continue that mentality and keep building on it.

00:42So, another tough game in the Premier League for us.

00:44What's confidence like in the camp, bearing in mind those three latest results?

00:49I don't think, to be honest, I can't remember too many times we've lacked pure confidence.

00:53I think early season, when we didn't get off to a good start, so many things went against us,

00:57our own doing and injuries and the like.

00:59I don't think it was a real lack of confidence, but of course confidence is driven and built by time,

01:05and getting the right results and the right performances.

01:08So, I think we're in a better place than early season, I think the mentality is strong,

01:12and we've had to build that mentality, and sometimes that's the best way,

01:15when you build it as a collective, it locks it in more,

01:18and now we've got to use that wisely to not only draw games, but to win games,

01:22and that's the next challenge, of course.

01:25Shmoone, do you want to take a couple of questions?

01:30John, any chance of Dwight making the game?

01:33We'll have to wait and see, it's still a bit of a touch-and-go scenario,

01:36with these games coming thick and fast, so it's a maybe at the moment whether Dwight makes it.

01:41Any others that need to keep going?

01:43No, we've got to make sure on Illy, I took him off the last game just for a minor tightness in his calf,

01:50so hopefully that's settled, and Shave, similar, just as a precaution, so hopefully that's settled as well.

01:57You said two defeats in 13, but looking at it the other way, three wins in 17 now,

02:05is that the message you're giving the players and everyone?

02:11No, it's the truth of the division we're in, you have to find a way,

02:16slowly but surely we're getting back to finding ways of winning games.

02:20After the first four games of the season, if you asked me would I have took that run, yes I would have,

02:25to get us back to having a sort of foothold in the division, we've done that,

02:29now we want more, we're hungry for more, we want more, we want the players to want more,

02:34and continue with some of the basic principles of what we've been doing,

02:37defensively we've been very strong after the first four games of the season,

02:40but now how many times can we open up enough to go and win games, and that's the next challenge.

02:46Thanks Shamoon, we'll go on to the final section.