00:13Hi Liam, I just wanted to get your initial thoughts on what went wrong for the team tonight
00:18to start off with. Yeah the most disappointing evening so far in terms of the things we've
00:28spoken about, not gifting goals away, making sure we're in the game, getting control of the game.
00:33It wasn't there and it turned into a really really difficult evening where the result and
00:37performance was nowhere near what we expected or wanted. When you talk about the performance not
00:42being what you wanted, we've spoken in the past about kind of individual moments, what were the
00:47kind of other factors maybe beyond that tonight for you? No for me, we arrived into the final third
00:52a lot. The moment they scored the first goal, we had an edgy start in terms of cheap giveaway
00:58ways that we gave away. Then we managed to gain control of the game and we're in the half and
01:02we're arriving and creating moments which we don't take, we're not clinical enough and then out of
01:08nowhere it feels like out of nowhere they score and it's not the first time that that's happened
01:11and what happens in football? If you are in a run, a difficult run of games against big teams,
01:17your energy levels and your confidence levels can drop if the other team score first and that's
01:22what happened. Pickford makes a world-class save at 1-0. Then we come out in the second half,
01:28have control of the game and then we make a mistake and they're 2-0 up and it gives them
01:32even more energy. It's about flow and momentum and we didn't have that in the game today.
01:37Nizar?
01:38Hi Liam, I was just wondering, you know, sort of in the context of Enzo Fernandes' comments,
01:42even though you cleared that up, but do you think the players are trying at the best level?
01:46Are they working at the best level or is it just sort of energy levels that are sort of setting
01:50them back?
01:50No, I don't think anyone can fall. I know when you look at a team that are 3-0 down,
01:55you're trying to press and get your way back into the game and it looks like the distances become
02:01really, really big. For me, I don't think there's a lack of effort. I don't think there's a lack of
02:05belief or determination in the team. In fact, I felt like Enzo kept going until the very, very last
02:10minute today. So I'm aware when you're on a run of defeats that we're on and when you're on a
02:14run of
02:15performances that we've had, those things get leveled at you, but I don't think that's the issue in this
02:20moment.
02:20And what are the reasons behind maybe you being a bit open in the last few games, certain
02:24moments? The first goal seems quite similar to the Newcastle goal.
02:27Yeah, but we, when you watch it, when you watch the goal back, it's not a tactical thing.
02:38We didn't go man for man today. We didn't. We played 4-4-2. I thought our shape was actually
02:43very good. We controlled their possession. They didn't expect it. They ended up kicking the ball
02:47back to us a lot of the time and we gain control of the game. And then it's a moment.
02:51It's a moment
02:52of switching off. I wish, I want to protect my players always. I always will. And I take
02:57responsibility for that lapse in concentration, but that's what it is. And that's happened too
03:02many times in my time recently for me not to tell the truth as it is.
03:08Dom, in the front here, please.
03:12Lim, can I ask you about the halftime substitution and sort of tactically the thinking behind
03:16that? Because it slightly changed how you set up and it came at a period of the game
03:20where you were only one goal down and actually I think you'd finished the second half, first
03:23half reasonably well. So what was the thinking behind that?
03:25Yeah, thinking behind it was we needed, I felt like we had so much control without the cutting
03:31edge that we had. We had, we had chances. Pickford made an unbelievable side and we were getting
03:35into the final third more and more. We wanted to make a positive change at halftime and get
03:40an extra winger on the pitch and Moy's done that job very, very well against Everton, against
03:44NDI before inverting from right back. We try and make positive changes to influence the game
03:50and I felt even that change, that change up until the second goal. Again, we watched the
03:56game back. I've watched it once live. We arrived in a final third time and time and time again
04:02without that clinical moment and we make a mistake for the second goal.
04:06Can I also just check about Jamie Gitton, who I don't think you were asked about on Thursday?
04:10Yeah, unfortunately Jamie came back into training with us and then re-injured.
04:16When was this? This week?
04:18This was before Newcastle. Yeah, I haven't been asked on that one.
04:22Mike, down here please.
04:24Hi Mike.
04:27There were some stats on the television coverage saying that you were outrun by Everton and some
04:35other clubs have done it as well. Do you think a reason for that would be the summer work
04:42that Chelsea did? Sorry, the summer work?
04:46Not the Club World Cup. Is that part of that workload or is there something you can change
04:55about that statistic?
04:57No, I think through the season, if you look at the stats before me, they were very similar.
05:01I think what I don't want to do, I don't want to be seen to make excuses that was not
05:06good enough. The last week hasn't been good enough. I think if you're a logical thinking
05:11person and you look at the workload and the amount of games that the players have played,
05:16I think it's a pretty simple conclusion to come to. Why I think the international break
05:21has come at a good time for us is because hopefully those players get a change. Most
05:25of them have to fly across the world and play for their countries, but maybe a reset, maybe
05:30some time away to regather their thoughts and have a different environment and come back
05:34may refresh the group.
05:36Time for two more questions. Gentleman in the middle and then Kieran.
05:39Hi Liam. You've gone over 300 minutes now without a goal in the last three games. You
05:46mentioned that you arrived in good opportunities quite a few times but weren't able to take
05:50them. Do you feel like there's something that you need to do for your forwards or is this
05:54just the law of averages that eventually it will work itself out?
05:57I think if you keep arriving and creating the moments that you do, you take them. For me,
06:04statistically, if you go through each game, it's not for a lack of shots. It's not for a
06:08lack of final third entries and that's where we need to be more clinical and that's something
06:13we need to work on.
06:15Kieran.
06:16Hi Liam. Can I just ask, do defeats like this actually hurt more when you've seen Liverpool
06:22lost, Man United dropped points? They hurt you more in a Champions League chase and at full
06:28time you went all the way up to the away end. Did you feel the need to feel it open,
06:33acknowledge?
06:33For sure. For sure. They pay their money. They love this club and they've come a long way.
06:37And it's a disappointing time for the club at the moment in terms of the way we lost in
06:43the Champions League and the way we've lost the last two games. My job, it hurts regardless
06:49of your position. It hurts to lose games of football. In terms of moving forward and having
06:56this time is to look at the bigger picture. We're one point away from the Champions League
07:00position. We need to keep working in this way. We need to keep giving the players as much confidence
07:06as possible. And hopefully this break of games now for us comes at a really, really good
07:10moment.
07:11Okay. Thank you so much, guys.
07:12Safe journey.
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