Karl Robinson on Salford's 8-0 City cup defeat

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Karl Robinson on Salford's 8-0 City cup defeat  11/01/2025  Etihad Stadium, manchester, Uk

Transcript

00:00Jürgen, you've probably got bigger things to worry about than losing an FA Cup tie at

00:18Man City, but how have you tried to lift the players after that, or have you tried yet?

00:24Not yet! I just said the first thing I said to the players seven games ago,

00:29whether they were going to concede eight goals in seven games,

00:32I would have taken it, I just didn't expect them all to be in that one match.

00:36I'm so proud of them, I think I said in the build-up to this that I knew coming into this game

00:42how this football club and how this manager respects everybody,

00:47and there's intensity of his players and himself,

00:49but there's always going to be a problem this afternoon, this evening,

00:52and to come up against them in the form that we're in,

00:56the thing for me that I'll hold and look back on is some of the silly errors that we made,

01:01I don't think they had to work too hard for some of their goals,

01:04and that's the bit that I'll be a little bit frustrated by.

01:07But I'm not going to carry it forward into next week and use it as an opportunity to slag the players,

01:12I'm proud of them, and our objective in the summer was to get out of the league that we're in,

01:17and we put ourselves in a wonderful position, 12 months ago we were fighting relegation in the same league,

01:21and to be sat here today is a privilege for us as a football club,

01:25to come up and bring 5,500 fans here, and to be in the automatic places within our league,

01:33I think we sit in a very, very good place.

01:38I appreciate what you're saying, and you're obviously right, but you're also a professional,

01:44what does it feel like, stood on the sideline?

01:48Not great, there's always that element of you that you have, that personal pride,

01:52it doesn't matter whatever you do in life, you always want to win.

01:55But you've also got to respect the quality of the teams and the people you're coming up against.

01:59I always said when I come into these games, I've done this long enough now,

02:02that I've always used it as an opportunity for us to be better moving forward, regardless of the result.

02:07So you take the finer points out of it, and you go, well, this was good, that wasn't,

02:11and make sure that you can pick things out of it, and you can be challenged in areas that you're never going to be challenged at your level.

02:16But there is that little bit of element that you feel frustrated, but I'm not going to.

02:19I'll have a go at myself first, blame me, not my players.

02:23And we'll just make sure when we come into work next week, we'll be better because of what's happened today,

02:28mentally as well as physically and tactically and technically.

02:31That's the only bit I'm a little bit with them, I said to them in there,

02:34just the silly way in which we turned over possession and no pressure whatsoever.

02:39I watched the Liverpool game before ours against Accrington,

02:42and the difference where it drops to a top player and he tends to find his own with the duels,

02:47where we and Accrington today, when it did drop, we'd give it away silly,

02:51and I think the first goal where Tilton jumps up in the air and he can head it down to one of our players,

02:55he puts it back into a knee where we're going to lose possession.

02:58They're the things that I'll take away and wish we would have done a little bit better,

03:01but I'm not going to have a go at them, I'd rather have a go at myself.

03:04Do you get them in and say, look what happened, or do you say, forget that?

03:10It's going to be a long debrief.

03:12There's a lot of pictures, but I'm not going to do that.

03:15I will use, moving forward, whatever our last game was in our league,

03:18and whatever the team that are playing next week,

03:20we'll make sure that we will work on all of their weaknesses.

03:24I'm sure their video footage when they're going to play us,

03:27I'm not too sure they're going to use Phil Fole nor Jack Wheeler,

03:29it's popping into areas that they want.

03:31So I don't think any of us, certainly at our level,

03:34I don't think you can use the FA Cup as a benchmark to criticise or hold any grudge on your own players.

03:41Evening, Karl.

03:42Evening, mate.

03:43We've wondered about City in recent weeks because of their results,

03:46you've seen them first-hand, you've seen them also without their first choice starting XI,

03:51what's impressed you about them tonight?

03:53The one thing with Man City, because when the manager's been somewhere for so long,

03:59they're institutionalised in a philosophy, a style, a mentality,

04:04and there's an expectancy regardless of whoever puts that shirt on,

04:07there's a burden that goes with that that you have to work hard.

04:09And the quality that they possess is clear for everybody to see.

04:13And we were just saying that when we got the team sheets of one or two players, O'Reilly and people like that,

04:17we've known coming through the ranks that we've seen before,

04:20and to see them giving them opportunity,

04:22we knew how good they were always going to be this evening.

04:24And I think when you look at the top, top level,

04:27the quality of coaching in this country now and the players that are coming through

04:31underneath the stars who play week in, week out,

04:34are just as talented.

04:36And in some ways they've maybe got a little bit more to prove,

04:39so the levels of intensity grown, the strike and the movement today was fantastic.

04:44And we found that very difficult with their pace and their energy to cope with,

04:48and it's a pleasure to see how many good players,

04:52well, it's not really, it is for them, it's not for me,

04:55but it just shows you how much quality this football club possesses.

04:59And how much have you learnt tonight as a manager?

05:03Not to win the second round.

05:07To take away from this, we'll take away very little other than pride,

05:12we've brought 5,500 fans, we're 10 years old,

05:15and this is from the owners taking over.

05:18We've got so much more to go.

05:20So many more years of learning and maturing and becoming better

05:24because of days like today.

05:26It's not like we've been here before, we've not been at this level before,

05:30nothing being a Premier League team away, we've ticked a number of boxes.

05:34And when I first came here 12 months ago,

05:36to think that we're sat here in front of you, where we are in the league,

05:39having just played Man City, regardless of the result,

05:41I think it's a tremendous achievement by everybody involved.

05:50When you talk about self-blame, are you not being a little bit harsh on yourself?

05:55If I don't take it, you're looking for me to put it on to my players.

05:58I'm certainly not going to do that.

06:01I didn't ask the question before,

06:03the personal pride aspect of it is always going to be hurt,

06:06and because of that I can't put my hurt on to players,

06:08I'd rather put it on to myself first.

06:10That's just the way you know me quite well, that's always been my personality.

06:13I never, coming into this game at any time,

06:16thought this was going to be an opportunity to have a go at my players.

06:19Because they give me everything week in, week out,

06:21and we're on this journey together.

06:23And like I said before, we're better because of what's happened today.

06:27How will you benefit as a coach, having experience tonight?

06:34Like I say, it's not like it's the first time we've come up against these teams,

06:37and I think every time you come up against a man of the stature,

06:40like Pep Guardiola, you're always looking at the little things,

06:44and today some of his tactical things were completely different.

06:47To see where that right-sided defender in some ways ended up into midfield,

06:52naturally in the build-up, and started in them areas,

06:55that was a real difficult play.

06:57You don't get that, the quality of the pitch, the quality of the possession,

07:00going from front to back, it's something we don't see.

07:02So that ability to find players between holes is always very difficult to fill.

07:07And we're a very aggressive team.

07:09And one thing I will say today, for as much as we can see the opportunities

07:12and goals of the opposition, I thought we should stick to some of our principles.

07:16We will go away from this and make sure that we're better because of it.

07:20And some of our players' attitude and their mentality, they will want to learn.

07:27But some of our players are still incredibly young as well,

07:29and getting young Will on, a Man City fan, that's what's made his day,

07:34and it's made our day, and it just shows you again, not just the first team,

07:38our academy, how hard we're working behind the scenes

07:41to make this football club a better football club.

07:44Excuse me.

07:49Perfect.

07:50Thank you, take care.

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