00:00Good afternoon everyone, hope you're well.
00:04Neutral process with mics on either side of the room.
00:06We'll take a share of hands for questions please.
00:07We'll set an embargo towards the end for 10.30pm this evening.
00:11So we'll start.
00:16Hi Pep.
00:17Could you give us an update on the team and the players as far as you're aware?
00:21I mean obviously we saw Erling for example in a little bit of pain at the end of the Villa game.
00:25Rodri Kusunov.
00:30Erling, I didn't see him today but it was a knock and the thing is day by day is better.
00:37But now we train this afternoon we know more exactly how does he feel and Kusa is ready to play a few minutes tomorrow and Rodri still is not.
00:49So it's getting better training with us partial and that but of course after what happened two times we were in a dangerous and muscular way.
00:59So we are going to see how we're both this week I would say.
01:04Do you have an idea yet when you might be able to put Rodri back in the squad?
01:09Hopefully soon but not yet.
01:11And on Erling, obviously I think on Friday one of the topics of conversation was about the number of games and the schedule and whether you can find opportunities to rotate players.
01:22Is this the sort of game where you don't need to risk Erling and that rest could be really important I'd imagine for the next few weeks because there's some huge games for the club and country.
01:30Absolutely.
01:31Carabao Capa always have been like that so in the first stages the guys will take a lot of minutes, be ready and show me, show themselves and the team.
01:40They are completely recovered and fit and ready and mentally and in the skills and everything to be ready to play and some rest for especially the players that play a lot, a lot of minutes.
01:50Not just Erling, Ruben, Josco and the other ones.
01:55So, yeah, the previous season we were in that stage with a lot of injuries.
01:59Now we have less and especially we have players that need minutes, you know, to get and Carabao Capa is perfect for that.
02:05And just to finish on the players that potentially might come in, I'd imagine the likes of Rayan Shirky and Omar Mahmouche, players who within the squad have that history of scoring goals at other clubs.
02:16This is a real opportunity for them to put their hand up, is it?
02:18Yeah, yeah, for them, for the defenders, for the midfielders, for them, yeah, of course.
02:22So, Omar have injured along and the team was, yeah, step by step.
02:29They played a few minutes last game and the impact always in moments in behind, close the box, Omar is exceptional and everyone, you know, to prove that they can help us.
02:41Hi, Pep.
02:42With Rodri being out and Nico having that foot issue, Tijani playing a lot of minutes, does Calvin come into your thinking for a start tomorrow?
02:53A start no, but maybe he'll struggle with us, yeah.
02:55What does he, what more does he have to do to, to get a start maybe?
03:01He's a player for the, for the team, for the squad, was lone in the last seasons and now he's coming back and he trained with us.
03:09We treat him like another, absolutely another player and after the decision, being selected or not, he belongs to me.
03:17Have you been happy with how he's been training?
03:19He's always an unbelievable guy.
03:21It's a joy to have him in the, in the locker room.
03:26And how does the preparation work for a match against, uh, opposition lower down in the leagues?
03:32Is there less pressure or actually more pressure going into the match?
03:36It's not the first time, 10 seasons here.
03:38Play many times with Carabao, FA Cups or teams in low divisions.
03:42I always said we took seriously.
03:44Otherwise we didn't have the success that we had in the past, so we prepared the same, the same way, incredible focus and even I would say sometimes even more, the tendency, I think I have the duty responsibility that make them feel that players, through my body language or through the commitment for the game, what do you have to do?
04:05If they see me, I don't care, so they will feel it and that didn't happen in the past.
04:12Never happened and never will happen.
04:16Tomorrow is perhaps the first opportunity in a month for James Trafford.
04:19Yeah.
04:20Having been number one at Burnley last season and here at the start of the season, how has he adjusted to spending more time on the bench?
04:27The keeper is a special situation because the keeper is playing normally one and the second one don't play, he's young.
04:33Only I can say that we are the light, his behaviour and training and one of the reasons I want to go through in this competition because we all have to be ready just in case we need it in the Premier League and Champions League and of course we have an incredible keeper.
04:49I would say many times for England we'll be sooner or later top one.
04:54I was going to say he's in and around the England squad, it's a World Cup year.
04:58Have you had to speak to him at all about the opportunities he will get here?
05:01Yeah, I spoke with him and the other players, yeah.
05:07All right Pep, just following on from that, how much of a role has Gigi played with James Trafford and how much can he learn from the keeper of his stature?
05:15Both learn, so Gigi I'm pretty sure he learned from James and James learned from Gigi.
05:19So the keeper's always connected to the train, you know, of course with Xabi and Richard and of course they learn, like I learned from the players and hopefully the players can learn from the staff.
05:33And just a quick one on Ray and Aitnori, I know he was involved against Villarreal, he wasn't in the squad at the weekend, just where's he up to in terms of his recovery?
05:41It's very easy to beat and very available yeah.
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