00:00Good evening, guys.
00:21Okay, let's get us underway.
00:26Hi, Liam. I think there's probably a wrong place to start.
00:30The goal that you conceded seemed really simple for this level.
00:34How can you play and how it went in?
00:36Yeah, there's a tactical issue.
00:39We press in a different way to most teams.
00:42It's a new way of pressing.
00:44We don't step on the press and then we don't cover in a position that we should have done.
00:49Mistakes happen.
00:51They had nothing.
00:52They had nothing in the game and we gave them a goal.
00:56We talk about the press.
00:58I think the press was the reason Newcastle had to kick long balls back to us and we controlled the
01:03game.
01:03But in that moment, we make a mistake and it feels like at the moment,
01:07every mistake we're making is ending up in the back of our net
01:10and we need to make sure we stop those mistakes.
01:12Does that make it even more disappointing?
01:14Because then you have two or three really good chances yourself.
01:17Obviously, the delay chance, a couple of headers, potential penalty.
01:21Did it just feel like it sort of all went wrong?
01:24No, I don't want to say it all went wrong.
01:26The first 15-20 minutes, I think anyone watching the game would say which way the game was headed.
01:31We had control.
01:32We had domination.
01:33We created chances and moments.
01:34And then that goal gave Newcastle the energy that they needed to see out the game in the way that
01:39they wanted to play.
01:41For me, it's two aspects.
01:44One, we lacked a little bit of mental freshness in the final third.
01:47You know, a combination or the right decision or that bit of quality in the moment.
01:51And the second thing is we need to make sure we stay.
01:55If we're not going to score, the other team don't score.
01:58And the disappointing thing today for me is we haven't kept a clean sheet when Newcastle,
02:03if they're being honest, didn't really create much.
02:05We gift them a goal.
02:06And that's something that I really, really need to solve for us to improve in the future.
02:11Jack?
02:12Liam, you spoke about Newcastle having energy.
02:13Do you feel that was something that collectively you lacked today?
02:16So you haven't got too many options in terms of the squad?
02:19Yeah, it's difficult at the moment with the injuries, especially in attacking areas.
02:22I'll never make excuses.
02:24Injuries are a part of the season, but you're missing three of our most important players
02:29in terms of unlocking a low block, which is your wingers.
02:32So Jamie was due back on the bench and he fell his hamstring late after training yesterday.
02:37So we're just checking up on him.
02:39Obviously, Estaval's out.
02:41Pedro's suspended.
02:42And you'd love to freshen it up.
02:44We tried to find different tactical solutions.
02:46In saying that, I think we got into the final third enough times.
02:50We just didn't take advantage of those moments.
02:54Yeah, they've scored a goal other than that from one mistake.
02:57I can't remember them having a clear chance on our goal.
03:01Can I ask what you made of the referee?
03:03Yeah, I'm disappointed.
03:05I'm disappointed.
03:06I'm disappointed.
03:06There's more focus and emphasis on the things that don't matter.
03:09I'm going to make it really clear.
03:10I want to protect my players.
03:11I'm respectful to the game.
03:13My players made a decision that they wanted to be around the ball to respect the ball
03:19and show unity and leadership.
03:21That is not my decision.
03:22That was a decision between a leadership group and a team.
03:25There is nothing that they're doing with that huddle that is disrespectful to the opposition.
03:30And JL was amazing.
03:31Before the game, it wasn't me.
03:32We had a meeting with the referee.
03:34My assistant goes in.
03:35The first thing he talks about is our huddle.
03:38And he says about when I complained about Arsenal being in our half.
03:43It wasn't the goalkeeper coach that was in our half.
03:45And people who were at that game at Arsenal know why I said what I said.
03:49We're not being disrespectful to the opposition.
03:52If Paul had focused more on his job, which was to make the right decision,
03:57we have a penalty today.
03:59I don't think anybody in this room can say that Volta Marder doesn't kick Cole Palmer down in the box.
04:04So let's focus on the things that are important.
04:07My team showing unity is not as important as getting the decisions right on the pitch.
04:13Kieran?
04:14Can I just check with Pedro Neto?
04:17When did the FA tell you about the one-match plan?
04:19Did that disrupt your plans?
04:21No.
04:22We were semi-preparing for it because we knew it was going to a hearing.
04:27Obviously, it's really disappointing because he would have made a huge difference today.
04:31And yeah, we've spoken a lot about discipline and what that can cost you.
04:34It cost us Pedro on the pitch today who could have made a huge difference.
04:38The FA have made their decision on that.
04:41And yeah, I won't comment further on that.
04:45I just wanted to ask you about two players not involved in just Philippe Johnson.
04:49I thought he might be involved in that.
04:51Josh actually might.
04:52Yeah, so Philippe felt his groin.
04:56Yesterday he couldn't train.
04:58I'm very lucky I thought Rob actually performed very, very well today in every aspect.
05:03Hopefully, Philippe will be back really, really soon.
05:05And Josh for me, that's just the decision I made in terms of the bench.
05:09What we needed for a really physical dominant Newcastle team when it comes to set plays.
05:14Having Benoit, Mamadou and Tosin to deal with that I felt was a better way to go.
05:20Josh is not out of my plans at all and he comes back into my thinking for Tuesday.
05:23Can you just ask in terms of Champions League?
05:25Like how do you take this as a normal race for the Champions League?
05:29Yeah, it's a blow.
05:30There was going to be plenty of twists and turns.
05:34You know, for me I showed the players the league table up until today in terms of my time with
05:38this group.
05:39We're third in the league.
05:41Third in the league in my time with the group.
05:43And it feels like sometimes it's not that, but that's the case.
05:47We're not out of it.
05:48You know, the last league game we played, we won 4-1 at Aston Villa.
05:52Today was a really difficult day, a frustrating day because we didn't get the result that we want.
05:56But I still think there's a consistency in our performances.
05:59Matt?
06:00Liam, just going back to the huddle and what you said.
06:04Will you maybe, and the players, look at altering it and doing a similar situation?
06:10Yeah, I'll be honest, Matt.
06:11I didn't speak to Paul today or his officials.
06:13I thought it wasn't the right thing to do today.
06:15But I'll be speaking to PGMOL.
06:17I'll be speaking to the refs and just trying to get an understanding of why that happened today.
06:23There seem to be other officials have said that they think it's because it was Newcastle's kickoff
06:29and therefore the referee controls the ball and controls when the kickoff will take place.
06:33Well, yeah, we were told in the rule book it's about timing.
06:37You can be where you want on timing.
06:38I'm not, I just want to find a solution to this because we're actually talking about something
06:44that's nowhere near as important as what's happening on the pitch.
06:47Cool.
06:48We'll leave it there, guys.
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