00:00Good afternoon.
00:18Okay, good afternoon and thank you for joining us.
00:22We shall take the usual format today and begin with Sky.
00:27Sam, where you go Sam?
00:27Hi, Liam. Normally we start the press conference talking about the game and previewing the weekend,
00:32but the last 48 hours have been dominated by what's happened in Benfica, Real Madrid and also in Mrs Gym.
00:40In your career, you've spent a great deal of time speaking in depth about the importance of speaking up and
00:47speaking out against racism in the game.
00:51So how did you feel watching those events on Tuesday?
00:54It's upsetting. It's upsetting when anyone, and there's context that needs to be, that needs to be had in terms
01:04of this situation.
01:05Always there has to be context to it.
01:07What I will say, you can see any form of racism in society, let alone football, is unacceptable.
01:16I cannot speak about an incident where an investigation is ongoing.
01:21I won't speak about that incident.
01:23What I would say is when you see a player upset, how Vinicius Jr. was upset, normally, normally they're upset
01:30for a reason.
01:32I've been racially abused myself.
01:34I know people have been racially abused.
01:35And what people have to understand is when you are judged for something that you should be proud of, it
01:41is the worst feeling you can ever possibly imagine.
01:44There are historical things to racism.
01:46I need to, as manager of this unbelievable football club, make my statement on it.
01:52If any player or any coach or any manager has ever found guilty of racism, they shouldn't be in the
01:57game.
01:58Shouldn't be in the game.
01:59It's as simple as that for me.
02:00But what I will not do categorically is talk about one incident when there's an ongoing investigation.
02:06Yeah, I appreciate that.
02:07There's been a fallout since the event itself.
02:11And Jose Mourinho is somebody who seeks into the history of this football club, the football club that you represent.
02:17You seem to give the impression that Vinicius Jr. was provoked that situation himself.
02:24As manager to manager, what did you make of his comments and the way that Vinicius Jr. handled the situation?
02:30I don't think it's manager to manager, to be honest.
02:33And again, it's context.
02:36What I would say is regardless of how a player celebrates, Ray should never come into it.
02:40That is an ongoing investigation.
02:42What I'm not going to do, I don't know the context of the situation.
02:45I don't know the context of in which Jose said what he said.
02:50And I won't make a judgment on it.
02:51It's the same thing.
02:53I won't make a judgment until you get the facts.
02:55It's difficult for me to make a judgment.
02:56But what I will say is if any player or any coach is ever found guilty of racism, you shouldn't
03:02be in the game.
03:03It's as simple as that.
03:04Yeah.
03:05The discrimination issues during the game on Friday, the whole other discrimination issues on Tuesday.
03:12And you've been speaking for a long time.
03:14I read your, and that's Donald Trump, about five or six years ago.
03:17There's still a lot of work to do as a society.
03:20What would you like to see change going forward?
03:22A lot of things.
03:23A lot of things.
03:25This is a very, very complex situation.
03:28We speak about discrimination or race or gender or anything.
03:35There are a lot of things that need to change in our society.
03:38I'm not talking about football.
03:39There's a lot of division.
03:40There's a lot of people in the media who make prejudgments on people or how they behave or who they
03:45are based on a sexual orientation.
03:48What country they come from, what religion they are, what color of skin they have.
03:54It sickens me, to be honest.
03:56I think it's a wider debate than just football.
03:58I think people need to be held a lot more accountable than they are at the moment in terms of
04:03social media, in terms of the press, to make sure that these things are stamped out.
04:06Because everybody should be judged equally based on the content of the character.
04:10I appreciate that there is a game on Saturday, so we do need to speak about that.
04:15Can I therefore ask about team news?
04:18Yeah.
04:20Unfortunately, that's one of the situations we're in.
04:22But can we ask about Marco Corrella?
04:25Yeah.
04:26Again, I can't give an exact time frame on Mark.
04:29He's suffered a hamstring injury.
04:31He suffered it before halftime in the Leeds game.
04:35So, for me, it's a real shame because he's an outstanding play.
04:39He's one of the best left-backs in the world.
04:42But we have Jarrell.
04:43We have Malo, who can play on that side.
04:45We've got really, really good plays that can cover.
04:47The sooner he gets back, the better.
04:49Can I ask you about where we are with Cole Palmer and Rhys James?
04:52The minutes have been managed over the last couple of games.
04:55At what point would you need to stop managing those minutes?
04:59Yeah, I've been asked that question a few times since I've been in.
05:02It's a really hypothetical question.
05:03It's based on day-by-day.
05:05Not just those two players, how each player feels.
05:08At the moment, they're both fully fit.
05:09They're both available for selection.
05:11They both trained really, really well today.
05:13And with those two players in your team, it makes you a really, really strong team.
05:17Yeah.
05:18Just finally for me, can I ask about this Champions League race you've played before Manchester United and Liverpool.
05:25In terms of Manchester United, you have a pretty identical record in terms of the form.
05:30But is it an advantage going for us?
05:31It's February.
05:32Yeah.
05:33It's February.
05:33There's plenty of time.
05:35I swear I've not even considered what time we're playing.
05:38We need to win our game.
05:39It's as simple as that.
05:40We need to do our job.
05:41And it's not going to be simple.
05:45Burnley went away to Crystal Palace and won.
05:47You watch Wolves.
05:48This is a strong league.
05:49You watched Wolves yesterday in their performance.
05:51And we have to take care of our business regardless of what time we play.
05:55Thanks.
05:56Roger?
05:56Hi, Liam.
05:57Hi.
05:58Just on what you just mentioned there, I was going to mention that obviously we saw Wolves last night.
06:02We saw West Ham digging out results recently.
06:04We saw Burnley fight back against Crystal Palace.
06:06How much of a warning is that to all the teams above them, even yourselves at the top, about complacency
06:12and about that these teams are battling for their lives?
06:14Yeah, I don't think it's just complacency.
06:17I thought Wolves were outstanding yesterday.
06:18I watched the game.
06:20This is such a strong league now.
06:22Every team can beat everyone.
06:25That's why the league is so close in terms of points between so many teams.
06:28What we have to do is we have to focus on our own performance.
06:31We have to make sure that we prepare ourselves right.
06:34But the way I like to do it is to be consistent in our process, whether we're playing Wolves, whether
06:40we're playing Burnley tomorrow, whether we're playing Manchester City, Arsenal.
06:43Our process is the same.
06:44And it has to be that way for you to be consistent in your performance.
06:48Burnley, obviously, had that result against Palace.
06:50That was a disappointment in the Cup as well.
06:51Made a lot of changes there.
06:52Would it be wrong to perhaps read too much into...
06:55It's the beauty of the FA Cup.
06:58Credit to Mansfield.
07:00I know it's going to be a difficult game tomorrow.
07:03It's as simple as that.
07:04I was reading that your captain, Reece James, who you were talking about just now has been chatting with John
07:09Terry quite well.
07:10Is that something you welcome?
07:12Him turning to someone who's got that experience?
07:15100%.
07:16100%.
07:17When you have people around the club, John is a legend of the football club.
07:21When you have people with the experiences, with the trophies that John's won and the experience he's got,
07:26it's an amazing thing for Reece to tap into.
07:29And that's a really, really positive thing.
07:31That's something you encourage.
07:32100%.
07:33Other players as well?
07:34Yeah, anyone.
07:35You can learn from anyone.
07:36But learning from people who have been there and done it is the best way.
07:40Thanks, Roger.
07:41Liam?
07:42Hi, Liam.
07:43The squad have had a bit of a rest.
07:45You've seen, you've seen social media, someone comes to Dubai.
07:48I've had a bit down time.
07:50You remember what it's like to be a player in the midst of the busy season.
07:53How important is it to have, to find a little moment like this?
07:57Yeah, I looked at the players' schedule over the last 18 months to two years.
08:02We've spoken about injuries and trying to maximise the availability of the group.
08:08I actually encouraged the players to go and get some sun.
08:10They have been at it non-stop for 18 months.
08:13And sometimes the best way to rejuvenate yourself, the best way to be fit and fresh is to switch off
08:19and take time.
08:20So that was my idea.
08:22I know people maybe question it if we don't win games after that.
08:25But in the moment, I thought it was the right thing for the players, considering the workload they've had.
08:30Have you seen the right kind of reaction in terms of the intensity?
08:33Yeah, I think they want more days off.
08:35So their training's been good for the last two days.
08:37Now, honestly, regardless of that, since I've been in, their level of, I keep saying, it's engagement, the intensity and
08:43training, what they're giving me.
08:46It's been consistently excellent.
08:48And it needs to continue that way for us to be successful.
08:51Thanks, Liam.
08:52Rob?
08:52Hi, Liam.
08:53You were positive about Liam Black's contribution to Hull.
08:57He's still only got two Chelsea goals.
08:59Is there such a thing as a good striker that doesn't score?
09:02Yeah.
09:03The work he's doing off the ball, creating space, moving defenders around, is helping the city?
09:07100%.
09:08That's the first thing I look for in my strikers.
09:11I look for people who contribute to the team winning games of football.
09:14And Liam certainly did that against Hull.
09:16And he's done that in other games as well.
09:17So, yeah, all strikers want to score goals, of course.
09:20You know, that's why they play the game.
09:22That's what they love to do.
09:23But there's a lot more.
09:24You need 11 attackers and you need 11 defenders at all times.
09:27And Liam defends from the front amazingly well.
09:30And so does Yao.
09:31They contribute to what has been a good record for us recently.
09:34And it has to continue.
09:35It hasn't gone probably goals-wise, at least, as well as me and the club might have hoped this season.
09:40And there's obviously reasons for that with injury.
09:43Is it fair to think that some players, particularly young players, coming into the league for the first time deserve
09:48a second season?
09:50Yeah, I think that's clear.
09:52I think if you look at most players' careers, then normally when they join a club, it's the second season
09:57that they really take off.
09:59For Liam, he's had some really, really good performances.
10:02But also his rhythm's been interrupted with injury, his shoulder issue.
10:07So I'm really, really happy with Yao.
10:09I'm really, really happy with Liam.
10:11I thought Mark Guillou, and we've called upon him, has been very good.
10:13And hopefully that needs to continue for us to be successful.
10:17Thanks, Rob.
10:18Thanks, everyone.
10:19Cameras off, please.
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