City v Charlton - Team news...

“People are getting better injury-wise. We should have 2 or 3 back on the pitch today and we’ll see if the game is too soon for them.”

“It’s not been easy, but we have a young group and this experience will make them better. It’ll make them stronger for the future. Hopefully we can bring 2 or 3 back in this week.”

“We were all deflated and disappointed last week but it’s been a positive week and we’re looking forward to getting out there on Saturday.”

“Confidence is obviously a massive thing. The only one who can make you confident is yourself and that comes from within. We all have to come together at the weekend.”

“We need to perform. It’s as simple as that. We need to make sure we put a confident, strong performance at home.”

“The good work at the football club continues. There’s a lot of things that people don’t see. I can’t stress that enough. The results haven’t been great but performance is key for us, because we know if we perform we give ourselves the best chance of winning.”

“Defensively we need to be better as it gives us chance to build from a better shape or structure. That doesn’t just include our goalkeeper or defence, that’s the whole team.”

“We have a group of staff and players who believe. We just need to turn this corner and turn the frustration into enjoyment.”

“The amount of injuries we’ve had is a learning process for me, but it is what it is. We will control the controllables and we can only work with what we’ve got. But these boys are good, young lads and they need to be the next ones to step up.”

“Safety is paramount, we’ll back whatever decision comes during this outbreak and people’s health is the most important, but football without fans is nothing.”

 

His press conferences have got progressively more bland and are now pretty much a waste of time, Burnsy's doing his show at the moment and Phil Buckingham has his annual week off for Cheltenham Festival, so there's no-one pressing him on the issue of formations/not playing **** strikers etc.

 

HDM Interview...

How have the team responded to the defeat at Stoke City and the criticism that followed?

It’s been a positive week. It’s not been easy for us at the minute, but we’ve had a positive week. We want to put a show on and we want to have some sort pf reaction at the weekend.

We were all deflated last weekend at Stoke and this is a good game for us. We want to play on the front foot and we want to make sure we have a real good go and win the game.

What is the confidence like within the group?

Before the game at Stoke we knew we had 10 big games left and we have nine now. That’s almost 20 per cent of the season left to play.

It doesn’t feel like that but it is. We know what we need to do and we are very clear on that. This week has been good and it has been a positive week, so we are looking forward to getting out there on Saturday.

How do you get the confidence back?

Nobody mopes about here and that stems from me to the players. We are always in a positive frame of mind and on to the next game and that has been the case from day one since I arrived at the football club.

We always analyse each game and we look to improve on it win, lose or draw. And we start fresh and approach the week ahead. Confidence is a massive thing, not just in football but in life.

The only person who can make you confident is yourself and that comes from within. A lot of people can tell you how good you are or tickly your ego, but ultimately it is all down to you as an individual.

That’s the players, the staff, everybody. We all need to come together as a group at the weekend if we want to get a result.

You’ve still got belief in this squad?

Definitely! I have belief in this group and great belief in what we are doing. Yes, we’ve been hit from pillar to post a little bit in recent weeks but you can’t cry over spilt milk, it is what it is.

We approach the next game in better shape than last week in terms of two or three coming back into the fold and I feel more positive.

How do you win back the fans and get belief back among them after recent displays?

We need to perform. It’s simple as that. We need to make sure we know exactly what we need to do and we need to make sure we perform and give a confident, strong performance at home.

I’ve said from day one when I first walked in how we’d get the fans back on side, and I said it’s by performing.

It hasn’t changed because we’ve lost a few games, we have to perform. It will be a difficult game, Charlton have been on a difficult run also and something has to give, hopefully it’s in our favour.

Is it frustrating it feels like the goodwill the club worked hard to earn when you came in has been eroded somewhat since January?

The good work at the football club continues and I must stress that. A lot of the things people probably don’t see going on behind the scenes whether in the community or the football club trying to be closer to the fans continues.

The results haven’t been great, but like I said, it’s all about performing and winning games. Performance is key for us because if we perform we give ourselves the best chance of winning.

We’ve spoken this week about what’s gone is gone. Yes, a lot of people will still want to speak about the last few games, but we have nine games now to get back to where we can do.

We’ll get some boys back off the injury table, make the group stronger and get some more belief and hopefully that’s the way we’ll go.

To win games you’ll need goals, which has been an issue, so how do you resolve that?

I think in terms of scoring goals, defensively we need to be better because that gives us a good chance to build off a good shape or structure. And that doesn’t just mean the goalkeeper or the back four, that means us as a group.

Defending always starts from the front and we need to make sure that is intact for the weekend, then we give ourselves a chance to go score goals. We have conceded early goals within games and goals in quick succession and that is probably through a little lack of experience and lack of confidence.

If it happens to us again we have to respond. We have quality right through the group and we know we need to perform better.

How do you stay true to your beliefs in the structure and selection in face of criticism?

It is very simple for me. I know that what I do can win football games and I have a firm belief in myself. Over the four years I have been a football manager or head coach, I have always stayed true to my beliefs.

I think clearly and I have a clear understanding of how I want my team to play and that all comes from the work done during the week leading into games. The biggest thing in football is trust and making sure you trust the messages you are giving are right.

One thing we have to do now is we have to trust in the process, trust in the belief of what we are trying to do and that will give us a good chance and get us in a good place.

The players have trust in what we need to do. We need to get a bounce of the ball now. We need to get that little bit of luck if you want to call it that, for us to go one-nil up and take the game to Charlton.

Have you questioned yourself and your approach given the winless run?

No, I never second guess myself because I have belief in what I do and how I get my teams to play. You only have to look at the last two or three years at what my teams have done.

It’s easy for people to question you when you are losing, not a lot question you when you win, that’s football. I understand that. We have a group of players here who believe in their own ability and a staff who believe in what we are doing and we just need to make sure we turn a corner now.

It is a good game for us at the weekend and we need the fans to get behind us and support us. We know it is difficult at the minute but we need to turn the fans’ frustration into enjoyment and we can do that at the weekend.

Do you worry about your own position within the football club?

I don’t think like that. I think about working as hard as I can to make this club as successful as I can.

It’s very easy for people to ask me that question and very easy for people to ask me how do I turn it around, but look, you don’t need to be clever to see what has gone on this season.

Anyone in the know will know. My job is to turn the tide and get the players to perform how they can and to take a bit of accountability, which is really important. They need to stand up and be counted and we’d like to put a good performance on for our fans.

Is that a sense of frustration for you, in terms of the injuries and players leaving that maybe those factors are not being considered by some of your critics?

We cannot affect that. The amount of injuries we have had, not who has gone, that has been the learning curve for me.

We control the controlables and you can only work with what you have got. The ones who are fit and available are good young boys who are learning, but they need to step up now and go and be the next star for Hull City.