Below are selected highlights from Wednesday afternoon’s press conference ahead of Town facing Bolton on Thursday night. You can find the full audio above.
Lee Grant
Can we just start with a team news update if possible? How are you looking after a couple of weeks without a game?
Yeah, we’re OK. We spoke a little bit before this extended break between the two games, about the possibility of having a couple back, which is nice.
We’ve had Mickel Miller and Antony Evans, again moving forward with where they’re at, and that’s been really positive for the group and for all of us: they’re two senior players who it’s important to us to have them back in and around it. Of course, they’re both at different stages…we’ve had Mickel for portions of this season, and he’s played, and he’s been, he’s been on the grass and in games — Antony less so.
So we probably have to be mindful of they’re not the same person, and that their their timelines will be, will be different as a result of that. But yeah, that’s been positive to have them both back in and around it.
With regards to some of the more longer term ones, they’re still working away. So Jack Whatmough is back on the grass working, but won’t be available to us [on Thursday night.
Obviously, we know the situation with Zeppi [Redmond], with Will [Alves], with Herbie [Kane], so no change there.
Is it a concern that things have slipped then in this early part of the season for you, or is that natural?
I think it’s a good question, but it’s not a concern. So I think probably a natural process of this group being so new, and us even post pre-season, post first-game, adding players into the group.
We talked about this early on, the learnings that we have to take through these games. So we learn about ourselves after Leyton Orient and Reading and Blackpool and Leicester and Sunderland and Manchester City…we learn new lessons about ourselves each and every week. How do we respond, you know?
How do we respond to going a goal down to Peterborough? Well, we find out we can win a game and score three goals. How do we respond up against one of the best teams in the world? How do we respond when we get 10 men for or against?
We’ve got lots of lessons to learn. I’ve got no doubt we’ve still got lessons to learn as a group, but I just think that period that you’ve talked about there just gives us a time to accumulate some of that learning, refocus in on it, consolidate some of that learning, and also make sure we’re fully we’re fully clear on this is who we are, and this is what we want to do.
I think fair to say, after Stockport, there are a lot of fans who were expressing concerns — about the style of play in particular. Is there a point to prove to those fans in this next run of games that it can work on a more consistent basis?
No, we don’t have points to prove. We want everybody with us. We don’t come out to get in the face of or to battle against anybody in the stands.
These guys are with us. They’ve shown in the first 11 games the full spectrum of you know, coming up north on a Tuesday night to Sunderland and trekking down to Exeter, and they’ve been there with us, they’ve been right behind us on that.
They’ve shown disappointment at Barnsley, the result, and then they’ve been again, right behind the group. So they’ve seen all sides of it.
We want to show them more and more, I think, of the bits that have had them really excited and to be leaving the stadium full of energy and belief. We want to show them more and more of that, because they’ve got to experience it. But I think it’s our duty to make sure they get to see that more often, if I’m being really honest, lots more often.
So it’s certainly not a case for us of points to prove. It really is a case of ‘no, come on, we owe them for their support. We owe it them to show our best side more often, because our best side this year has had them really excited, has had them full of belief and excitement. So let’s give them more and more of that’.
You talked in the summer a lot about wanting to play attacking football, and at times it has got sort of stuck on halfway or in your own half at times. Is it trying to get back to what you were trying to teach in the summer and hammer those points home again
I think it’s the detail of some of the bigger overarching themes of who we are. What have we done, guys, when we’ve looked our best — and not just looked our best, but when you felt your best, what are the bits that you’ve done?
I think we probably spent some time reconnecting with some of that for individuals and for for units. We’ve spent some time doing that. I think that’s been helpful for for some some guys, individually, and I think it’s been helpful for us as a group, collectively as well.
I do believe that it is easy in the hustle and bustle of it all, after 11 games, had a few new players into the pot…it can be easy to, I don’t know, maybe step away from some of the bits that gave you success and joy.
I think our first seven games everybody’s going like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is incredible’…now, I think if I was to rewind and listen to myself talking after those first seven games, I’ll probably hear myself saying things like, ‘we’ve got to perform a little bit better, we’ve still got bits to improve on, we’re not the finished article’. So I’m not changing that narrative now, just because we’ve gone in the last five league games, win, loss, draw, win, loss…and we’ll see where we go in the next one.
Lynden Gooch
Is the time to try new things? Or is it more about reiterating the basics and the things that actually Lee Grant’s wanted from you from day one?
I wouldn’t say trying anything new. I think just doing things better, doing things that the manager said to us from day one. I think in a couple of games, I think we’d all agree we probably let him down at certain points and with some of the results.
Since I’ve been here, I’ve absolutely loved working with the gaffer and what, what he’s trying to implement here at the club — so just more of trying to nail those basics.
What do you think you do need to do better? What do you think will result in more results for the group?
I think we just need to stay calm. We’re only 11 games into the season. I think people kind of overthink it sometimes…you just need to keep doing things well, doing the basic things well in this league, and we’ve got players at the top end of the pitch that will win game.
So I think for me, obviously playing at the back, for us, keeping clean sheets [is a priority and we can] give our creative players and our forward players the best chance to win.
After Stockport, I think Lee Grant said he sensed a bit of nervousness that he found a bit alarming in the opening 45 minutes. Did you feel that? And do you as a collective feel that at times?
You can sense it when that happens, I think obviously the fanbase want success as well, so they might get a bit stressed as well. They want to get back in the Championship as quickly as possible.
So I think for me and some of the experienced players that have, it’s up to us to kind of settle the group and kind of look after the young ones and say ‘it’s alright, just stay patient, just listen to what the manager is saying, what he wants us to do and stick to the plan’.
Look, sometimes the plan doesn’t always go the right way, but there’s a chance for us to to bounce back tomorrow night.
