00:01John, plenty to like about that performance today as you beat Oxford 1-0.
00:05Yeah, I was really pleased with the performance in large parts.
00:08I thought for 60 minutes we controlled the game well, we looked fairly comfortable.
00:12I thought certainly in the first half created the better of the chances.
00:15Florian had a couple of really good chances at the back post
00:17and maybe got a bit fortunate with the goal because of the back pass
00:20but probably earned that through the way that we pressed and the way that we worked off the ball.
00:24So yeah, really, really pleased with that.
00:26I think the last half hour was different, it was a bit more difficult.
00:29We probably made a couple of mistakes that allowed Oxford to build pressure
00:34and they did it in a very, very different way so they went a lot more direct.
00:37Long throws, corners, free kicks, all those set pieces.
00:40Ultimately we dealt with them, that's something that we're going to have to do as the season goes on
00:45but it's probably those minor details in between where we did invite a bit of pressure
00:48and we didn't put the ball in the back of the other end.
00:50Not that we've created a huge amount of chances but chances to keep the pressure on,
00:54chances to maybe get shots away that I think as we improve we will hopefully get better at.
00:58I thought Callum Lang was absolutely unplayable today.
01:01I thought he was superb, I just said in the dressing room there, really, really pleased with Callum.
01:05Direct, on the right, straight away I thought he got straight at the full-back,
01:10he caused a lot of problems and sometimes when you have wingers that are capable of doing that
01:16it gives you a very, very nice thing to look at as a head coach but I thought he was really good.
01:23His work rate was superb and playing, I guess, out of position, I don't think it's really out of position for Callum
01:28but he's played 99% of the time as a 10 for us, maybe once last year for Blackburn, he played on the right wing.
01:33So I'm really happy for Callum, he probably did everything to get the goal.
01:37He's had a soft start pre-season obviously with his injury.
01:40Yeah, that's one of the reasons we decided to take him off late in the game.
01:42We knew the physical output, you guys can see it, you don't need to see it, the GPS was excellent from Callum
01:47so we wanted to protect him and make sure he was OK.
01:50You mentioned that he can play on the right, do you see him playing on the right now this season?
01:54Especially with how Ralf Segertips did?
01:55Yeah, it was just one of those decisions that we made in the last couple of weeks.
01:58We wanted to see how we could accommodate both of those players, they're really good players,
02:03they both can't slot in as a 10 unless we change formation, which we're not going to.
02:07With the options that we have across the front line at the minute, we thought it was a really good opportunity for Lange to do that.
02:16And of course, away from home, it gives you that ability to break and counter-attack, doesn't it?
02:21Yeah, and maybe, that's probably one thing we could have done a bit better in the second half.
02:24We did it well in the first half, but I thought in the second half, as we sat a bit deeper and changed the personnel slightly,
02:30I thought we could have broken a little bit better, particularly as Colby had a very, very good afternoon,
02:35I think dominating the proceedings and then we could have broken off Colby a bit more.
02:39But it's one of those things that we worked on a huge amount pre-season and we need to make sure that we continue to get better in some areas.
02:45Adrian Sekic, he's looked good in pre-season, but today, sensation.
02:49I thought so, first and foremost, a difference maker with the goal and took his goal really, really well.
02:54It's something that we saw when we recruited him, joint top scorer in the A-League last year,
02:59so that was the most important thing. The second behind that was his work rate and his press and the way that he got about his business,
03:06but I thought he picked up some really good pockets in possession as well and he's a constant threat.
03:09Was he always here, Mark, to start the first game of the season? Has he exceeded expectations since he's been here?
03:13We've had him since the first day of pre-season, which has helped.
03:16I think we've had some players that have come in recently and they're not quite up to speed for various reasons.
03:24If you look at Philippa Minhoek, for example, I thought he came in and looked really bright, but he's had a sort of stop-start pre-season as well with Spurs.
03:31Florian, I thought we got a huge amount out of Florian today, but he hasn't played 60 minutes in a long, long time, more than that.
03:39So, yeah, I'm really pleased that he came in, but Segs, we knew he was fit, we knew he was ready to go, so we're happy starting him.
03:44Was he always going to be first team ready when you signed him?
03:46I thought so, yeah. He was a player that we didn't, we're not signed as, hopefully he does develop and he becomes a better player,
03:55but we signed him to affect the first team now.
03:58What really pleased you about his performance today?
04:00I think, apart from the goal, his work rate is superb. He runs and he runs and he runs and he runs and he runs,
04:07and he's got the quality to back that up as well with some of the pockets that he picks up, and he's just a constant threat, I think, in the middle of the park.
04:12He's the sort of player that I was a six, or even if I was a centre-half, I used to hate to play against him.
04:18Josh Murphy, when he's not in the squad at this time of the season, people get a bit panicky, rightly so. What's the situation with him?
04:24Nothing to panic about. Josh has picked up, he actually came off last week against Peck Zwolle,
04:29because he'd slightly felt his hamstring. We thought it would just be a bit of fatigue at the time,
04:33but he's got a very, very, sort of, very, very minor strain in the hamstring. Touch and go for today,
04:40but we're not going to risk it with how explosive Josh is and how much he relies on that top-end pace
04:45and that top-end speed, so we decided that it was one where we'll get him the rehab. Touch and go, probably, for Norwich,
04:51but if not, I think he'll be back for West Brom.
04:53He also got that injury, didn't he, in the last game of last season, didn't he?
04:57Yeah, we stopped playing him in the last game of pre-season, that's for sure.
05:01What's the process on? Can he still train? Is that how it works?
05:03He was out on the grass yesterday, but he's not, no, he's not risking any training.
05:08We'll still make sure we sort of wrap up in cotton wool and get the right balance between when he needs to step up his rehab.
05:13I mean, do you still see him staying here as well, beyond the window?
05:16Yes.
05:17That's not any question whatsoever.
05:19No.
05:20Colby Bishop, was that a miraculous recovery from him?
05:24Yeah, I mean, he had genuinely been struggling with that groin injury, hence he didn't play last weekend,
05:30but, you know, it was one of those things that, and Colby did then say to me when he missed the game,
05:35he was like, I'm playing next week, or I'm fit next week, he said.
05:39He never demands to play, but he said, I'll be fit for, I'll be fit for next week,
05:42so it was one of those that we trust Colby.
05:44I think he's, he put in a monster of the performance today.
05:48I thought he was brilliant leading the line.
05:49Is that part of your game playing, is it, saying he's injured?
05:52Yeah, you know me when I'm off.
05:54A little bit, sometimes I'll tell the truth, sometimes I won't.
05:58Has he trained much this week as well?
06:01Yeah, he trained from Monday onwards.
06:03And he lasted the whole 90 minutes a day as well.
06:05Yeah, I didn't even think about bringing him off, I thought he was excellent.
06:07Thank you very much.
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