00:00Hi Michael, I'm pleased to win you with the spirit and the character on show in that game because it
00:04felt at half-time like you were really up against it and I liked the show a lot.
00:09Yeah, it's the biggest thing for us to take from the game really is probably the first time that we've
00:15been in that situation going in at half-time but I thought we were a little bit off to start
00:19with.
00:20I thought they started particularly well so credit to them for that.
00:24And then probably after 20 minutes or so I thought the game started turning in our favour and we finished
00:30the half stronger and it looked a little bit like what we were trying to do and then spoke with
00:37half-time really about being in that position and how we react and showing that personality and the belief in
00:44football's tough at times and this league's tough so you're never always going to have it your own way.
00:49But to then come back like we did second half and turn the game on in our favour is the
00:54biggest thing for me to take from today for sure.
00:57Hi Michael, I think jogging down the tunnel just when the half-time whistle went, was there anything in particular
01:03that you wanted to address with the players?
01:05It's always something. No, it was just a couple of little tweaks in shape, maybe a couple of ideas, some
01:13things we tried from the start that we wanted to kind of tweak a little bit but honestly it wasn't
01:21major really and I'm not taking much credit for that.
01:23I think the boys showed as the first half progressed that it was on its way to being better. It
01:30was more, as I said, that you've got to find a way in games sometimes.
01:33There were a few ideas that we wanted to make more runs, we wanted to be a little bit more
01:36aggressive in attacking their backline to a point which is something you always try to do but I thought we
01:42did it better second half and getting the penalty from that.
01:47It was more the, how do we react? It's been going in our favour. I said to them it's something
01:52I've been waiting for this moment to see what we're going to do about it and be positive and the
01:58boys responded on ever so well.
02:00So it was a big thing for us.
02:03Michael, six wins from seven and a draw up to third. I don't think anybody really expected that and you
02:10took over.
02:11When you're walking around the stadium and the fans are singing your name, what does that feel like?
02:17Yeah, it's nice obviously. This place means a lot to me so to have so much positivity and everyone enjoying
02:25coming to the games and watching it and me to obviously have an influence on that, I'm not going to
02:32lie.
02:32Yeah, of course it feels good. I think the players have got to take a lot of credit as well
02:36for that in terms of what they've put on the pitch.
02:41So it's certainly not all me but I think that connection with the supporters is huge and to feel that
02:46and for them to stay with us even when there was a bit of a story start to get through
02:51the game and finish like that means a lot.
02:55Dan and then Rob.
02:56Mike, I know we've asked you a lot about that in the last few weeks but for him to make
03:01an impact from starting off today and starting 11, how pleased are you for him and how much more confidence
03:07do you think that will give him?
03:09Yeah, absolutely. Delighted for Ben. I think I've sat here and said to you for the last few weeks about
03:16it. It's certainly not been a headache, it's not been a big deal, it's not been a big drama.
03:20I think he's had a huge impact, Ben and he's been making big improvements and a little bit is getting
03:26used to what it's like to be here and the feelings and what it means to play and things that
03:31we can take for granted at times.
03:33And he's desperate to do well, he works so hard, he thinks about it an awful lot, it's an absolute
03:38pleasure to work with.
03:40Today he started and it was a fantastic goal, so he's bringing an awful lot. We've got good flexibility across
03:50the top line and the front players can play different roles within the game so there's a lot of flexibility
03:55there.
03:56Ahmed took some time out today and he might change the game for Wednesday but it's nice to have them
04:02options really.
04:03Just on Ben again, obviously his record for the first half of the season is completely different for his record
04:09in the last few weeks and I know you can't comment on what's gone before but how much of his
04:14revival is down to giving him a bit of self-belief?
04:16How much is it down to you playing for his strength and maybe creating chances where his attributes can be
04:21useful?
04:24Maybe a bit of both, I think. Working closely with him, connecting with him, building that relationship and that trust,
04:31I think that's important when you're trying to help players individually and certainly as a team.
04:38Lots on Ben, he's put the work in and he's stayed positive, he knows how he wants to improve, he's
04:43pretty clear on that but he's a good player, that's why he's here.
04:46He's a good player and he's got some great strengths and I think they're coming and being clear to see
04:54if he's gone different types of goals but he's such a real threat.
04:58So yeah, I'm really excited about where you can get to without getting too carried away.
05:03I think he's got huge potential, he's so young and still early days for him but he's doing fantastic at
05:08the moment.
05:09Karl and James.
05:12During a pause earlier in the game, you were speaking to Kunia on the sideline.
05:17I just wanted to know what you made him to perform today.
05:20Didn't seem to be getting onto the ball in the same way you did when you had more ball glue
05:24and short work, more left footers in the team.
05:27Just getting a balance really about when to play inside a little bit, when to play outside a little bit,
05:32when to make runs in behind.
05:35Again, Matthias, he thinks a lot about the game, he's really good in terms of wanting to know certain things
05:43and it was just one of them.
05:44Probably because he was the closest one to me so we ended up having a conversation where he's conscious of
05:50where the space is and trying to attack certain spaces.
05:52Sometimes it's wide, particularly in the second half, at times he looked dangerous wide, going 1v1 which is something he
05:58can do.
05:59Then he's inside the pitch a little bit more to create the moment for the penalty.
06:05Nothing major, just little bits of information here and there.
06:09James?
06:10Michael, obviously the club is synonymous with goals and not just goals, often great goals.
06:15Obviously you want to win and score primarily but does it matter to you that some of the goals that
06:22you're scoring are so good?
06:24The winner today, obviously you've seen the series of goals that you've scored previously, does that matter?
06:30It's nice to score good goals, we all come to games to see goals at the end of the day
06:35and see that excitement and that level of entertainment really, if we're honest, from top players.
06:43So I think we all know what the boys are capable of, it's definitely not getting carried away so I
06:49don't think we've got all the answers just yet.
06:51But certainly knowing that the boys have got big moments in them in different ways, whether that's through balls, whether
06:57that's a little bit of combination play, whether that's 1v1, whether that's headers.
07:01We do feel we've got a good balance to that but that's certainly not thinking that everything's just going to
07:06be alright on the back of it.
07:08But it's really positive to see in the goals.
07:10There's going to be games when it might not quite happen and it doesn't mean it's a disaster.
07:15The two away games it was a little bit harder to come by but that's football and to put the
07:21run together that we have, we've had to do it in different ways.
07:23So that's what's more encouragement for me really is how we've ended up doing it in different ways.
07:30Yeah, something to look forward to really to build on.
07:33Okay, I'll move on to our pre-news.
Comments