(00:00:00):
Thomas, good to see you.
(00:00:01):
It feels a bit weird asking Team News when the next match is five days away,
(00:00:06):
but is there anything you can provide us,
(00:00:09):
any players closer to returning?
(00:00:12):
Team News is the same as before the Liverpool game,
(00:00:16):
so everyone who’s available there is available for the Crystal Palace game,
(00:00:23):
five days away.
(00:00:25):
Dominic Solanke, Dejan Kulicevski, how close are they to returning?
(00:00:29):
The same as I said before,
(00:00:31):
both of them,
(00:00:32):
I will be very happy when I can announce now they are part of the squad,
(00:00:38):
so that’s where it is.
(00:00:40):
Does it feel close though for those two?
(00:00:44):
Nah,
(00:00:45):
yes or no,
(00:00:45):
we speak about it all the time,
(00:00:47):
and I know it’s been a while you’ve been here,
(00:00:49):
so I think it’s much better to speak about when they’re available.
(00:00:53):
I think it was just my turn to ask.
(00:00:54):
Yeah, no problem.
(00:00:56):
Look, you’re going to be without Xavi Simons.
(00:00:59):
Were you considering as a club appealing the red card at all?
(00:01:03):
Yeah,
(00:01:03):
I would like to do it,
(00:01:05):
but I know it does make sense because the way the rules are,
(00:01:09):
you know,
(00:01:10):
we can appeal,
(00:01:10):
but we’ll get nothing out of it,
(00:01:11):
as I’ve been told.
(00:01:13):
So that is what it is.
(00:01:15):
Okay, look, Arnislot made some comments about Miki van der Ven’s challenge on Alexander Isak.
(00:01:21):
He felt the challenge from Miki was reckless.
(00:01:26):
Looking back at it, do you think that’s something you agree with or do you disagree with him?
(00:01:32):
No, I’m obviously disagreeing.
(00:01:35):
In many ways,
(00:01:36):
I think we are talking about a defender in Miki van der Ven,
(00:01:39):
that we do everything we can to avoid the goal,
(00:01:43):
so...
(00:01:44):
It’s a transition,
(00:01:45):
so he’s sprinting back in,
(00:01:49):
there’s a ball slide down the side,
(00:01:50):
and he does everything he can to see if he can block that shot,
(00:01:53):
so he’s sliding.
(00:01:54):
Unfortunately, Isaacs plant his foot straight there, and that makes it look worse than it is.
(00:02:02):
I think that would be a natural reaction for any defender,
(00:02:05):
or put it this way,
(00:02:06):
if my defenders don’t do that.
(00:02:09):
then I don’t think they are true defenders.
(00:02:12):
So I don’t see that at all.
(00:02:16):
And I think Rackland’s challenges,
(00:02:20):
normally you haven’t seen,
(00:02:22):
I think,
(00:02:23):
anyone from Miki,
(00:02:24):
as I remember it.
(00:02:25):
So it seems he’s a very fair and competitive player.
(00:02:28):
So that’s one thing.
(00:02:29):
The other thing, I also know that the two players have sorted it out.
(00:02:32):
So that’s a good sign of how they sorted it out.
(00:02:37):
Or a good sign.
(00:02:39):
And you’re going to be without Christian Romero as well for the game against Crystal Palace.
(00:02:43):
I think you spoke briefly about the fact,
(00:02:45):
not just the captain,
(00:02:46):
but the whole players controlling their emotions in certain situations in games.
(00:02:50):
Have you had a conversation with him specifically about his role as a captain,
(00:02:54):
as a leader of the group,
(00:02:56):
to lead by example in those situations?
(00:02:59):
Many times, but not.
(00:03:01):
And also,
(00:03:02):
of course,
(00:03:03):
after this game,
(00:03:03):
and not because of Kuti,
(00:03:05):
I speak to the players in general,
(00:03:07):
as I said.
(00:03:09):
I know we can put that label on when it’s a captain.
(00:03:12):
For me, all the players need to have a cool head and lead by example.
(00:03:18):
You cannot have only one leader on the pitch.
(00:03:20):
I know he’s the one with the armband.
(00:03:23):
So that was one thing.
(00:03:25):
We’re talking about...
(00:03:28):
A player,
(00:03:28):
a very passionate player,
(00:03:30):
that when he is at his absolute top,
(00:03:32):
he carry the teams on his back like he did in the Europa League final.
(00:03:37):
Without him,
(00:03:38):
we wouldn’t have won the trophy like he did away to Newcastle,
(00:03:41):
like he’s done many times.
(00:03:44):
When you’re very passionate,
(00:03:45):
sometimes you can maybe in a few moments like the extra coolers,
(00:03:50):
sometimes maybe something he’s working on.
(00:03:53):
I think you...
(00:03:55):
You have a player where the second goal for me still is a clear, clear, clear foul.
(00:04:02):
And okay, I haven’t played on the highest level.
(00:04:08):
Everyone who played on the highest level, if they know there’s a foul, they know it’s a foul.
(00:04:13):
And the way he reacted, it’s a clear foul.
(00:04:16):
So he felt hard done by.
(00:04:18):
So the mistake he did there was he was running, unfortunately, touching John Brooks.
(00:04:23):
That means he, when he touched the ref, you know, unfortunately, he needed to have a yellow.
(00:04:28):
But let’s say it was a foul given.
(00:04:29):
You don’t get the first yellow, you don’t get the second yellow.
(00:04:32):
The second yellow is a mistake, obviously, from Goethe, which he’s agreed on.
(00:04:38):
But before that, he was the one that competed like a...
(00:04:42):
very passionate for the first corner,
(00:04:45):
compete on that duel,
(00:04:46):
and the second duel and we score the 2-1.
(00:04:47):
So you need to accept if you have passionate players that, you know, it’s part of it.
(00:04:53):
Finally for me,
(00:04:54):
look,
(00:04:55):
we mentioned at the start eight days gap,
(00:04:57):
which seems a bit strange this time of year that you’ve got that gap.
(00:05:01):
For you as a manager,
(00:05:01):
is there a bit of almost,
(00:05:04):
you’ve got to get the balance right in terms of giving players time off,
(00:05:10):
Because there’s eight days.
(00:05:11):
The fact is Christmas as well.
(00:05:12):
Players want to spend time with family if they can.
(00:05:15):
But also looking at the current situation,
(00:05:18):
14th in the league,
(00:05:19):
that this is an opportunity to get the players in,
(00:05:21):
work on things that you don’t necessarily get to do when you’re playing midweek
(00:05:26):
weekend games.
(00:05:28):
I think it’s the first full week we had since August, so it’s pretty welcome that we have that.
(00:05:38):
And this week we actually handle in the same way I would have done with any other
(00:05:44):
week if it was not...
(00:05:46):
Christmas is still done the same so we have two days leading to the game day off
(00:05:50):
two days so today and tomorrow and then off on 25th and then two days then it’s
(00:05:57):
perfectly fit the Christmas family schedule which is which is very good and I I’m a
(00:06:04):
big believer of
(00:06:06):
having to be top professional and that’s something I believe the players are and
(00:06:17):
should be and some need to be guided more than others but also they are
(00:06:23):
grown up individuals that if I need to hold their hand the whole time,
(00:06:28):
we have a bigger problem,
(00:06:29):
in my opinion.
(00:06:31):
Then the way to make sure everyone does need to hold their hand,
(00:06:38):
that can be,
(00:06:38):
of course,
(00:06:40):
that can be part of the journey.
(00:06:41):
But this I will do any other day.
(00:06:44):
But I also believe in clear communication.
(00:06:48):
I believe in when I said why we trained tactical today,
(00:06:53):
after two days off to get the body going,
(00:06:55):
why we trained set pieces extra today.
(00:06:58):
I expect them to be absolutely bang on it.
(00:07:01):
Tomorrow we’ll have a sharper,
(00:07:03):
intense training,
(00:07:04):
so everyone after training can get out of here because they want to spend time with
(00:07:09):
the family,
(00:07:10):
because they think that’s hugely important.
(00:07:12):
25th off and then we meet a little bit later on the 26th but that also that the
(00:07:19):
need of course to pay back being professional so spend time with the family is of
(00:07:23):
course fantastic and then so that’s just so the only thing I do a little bit
(00:07:28):
different is probably meeting a bit later on the 26th the rest is the same
(00:07:33):
Merry Christmas.
(00:07:36):
Since the beginning of the season you’ve dealt with a lot of injuries.
(00:07:40):
You’ve got plenty of games throughout the festive season.
(00:07:43):
How confident are you that you’ve got enough depth in the squad to overcome this
(00:07:49):
period with positive results?
(00:07:53):
I’m confident we can get good results.
(00:07:56):
Of course,
(00:07:56):
you always want a fully fit squad,
(00:08:01):
but right now we have the players available and we need to deal with it and find a
(00:08:07):
way and get good performances out there and results.
(00:08:11):
Two questions about Christoph Palas, please.
(00:08:12):
First of all, about the manager Oliver Glasner.
(00:08:15):
They suffered a big defeat recently against Leeds,
(00:08:17):
but in general,
(00:08:18):
how impressive have you been with all of your work at Palace,
(00:08:20):
winning the FA Cup,
(00:08:22):
taking them to Europe as well?
(00:08:24):
I think Oliver done a top job at Palace in many ways.
(00:08:29):
Really impressive.
(00:08:32):
Clear identity of the team.
(00:08:36):
Defend low.
(00:08:39):
Very compact, very difficult to break down.
(00:08:41):
Incredibly good on the counters.
(00:08:46):
Probably one of the best in the league.
(00:08:51):
I think it was last season as well.
(00:08:53):
End of last season, definitely a season as well.
(00:08:55):
So very good on set pieces as well.
(00:08:58):
One of the best on corners.
(00:09:00):
Added long throws also last season.
(00:09:02):
So very strong on set pieces as well.
(00:09:05):
And also when they build, have a clear identity with their 3-4-3 positions.
(00:09:12):
So they’ve done a really good, impressive job.
(00:09:15):
Can I ask you about the system they play at Palace?
(00:09:17):
It feels like a very similar system that Mount United play.
(00:09:21):
And while Rubin Amorim is still trying to figure this out,
(00:09:25):
at Palace they’re getting a lot of praise for that.
(00:09:27):
As an opposition manager,
(00:09:28):
what’s the biggest challenge of facing them and trying to find a solution?
(00:09:32):
I think there’s a lot of similarities in the way the two are approaching it, if I’m honest.
(00:09:40):
That’s a little bit different, I think.
(00:09:44):
One is more zonal, the other one is a little bit more man-orientated defensively.
(00:09:48):
But on the ball, a lot of the same patterns.
(00:09:51):
But you can’t compare Man United and Crystal Palace.
(00:09:55):
It’s two different beasts.
(00:10:02):
Hi Thomas, how are you?
(00:10:03):
I’m good, thank you.
(00:10:06):
Apart from the results aspect, from the outside it looks like your team is an angry team.
(00:10:13):
A team that needs to
(00:10:14):
maybe learn how to just keep its emotions in check.
(00:10:16):
We’ve seen a few times this season examples of that made when the players came off
(00:10:22):
the pitch and didn’t shake your hand.
(00:10:24):
Again, we saw it on Saturday when you talk about the captain going up and touching the referee.
(00:10:31):
Is that a fair comment that maybe while being intense and wanting to give
(00:10:37):
everything for the shirt,
(00:10:38):
they just need to calm down a bit?
(00:10:43):
I understand why you asked the question,
(00:10:45):
because that was definitely the topic after the game,
(00:10:48):
which is probably fair.
(00:10:51):
I think it’s two different situations if you are talking about a player that’s a
(00:10:55):
little bit disappointed by seeing him subbed off or disappointed with his own
(00:10:59):
performance or whatever it is.
(00:11:02):
I think that’s two different things.
(00:11:05):
I think it was more fair if it happened
(00:11:09):
two to three times the season, what happened in the game.
(00:11:13):
I think it happens sometimes.
(00:11:16):
If you don’t play with your emotions,
(00:11:18):
don’t play with passion,
(00:11:20):
you don’t play to win,
(00:11:23):
then of course you also need to have a cool head.
(00:11:25):
Of course, that’s part of it.
(00:11:28):
So the answer is no.
(00:11:31):
At Brentford you have very different players to the players you have at Spurs,
(00:11:35):
but I don’t sometimes recall quite
(00:11:39):
feeling like this after games and you having to speak about this after games?
(00:11:44):
No, I think you’re right.
(00:11:45):
But again, I can’t remember.
(00:11:48):
Even now we’ve played a lot of games this season, so I can’t remember another game like this.
(00:11:52):
I think this was hopefully an odd one out, I must admit.
(00:11:59):
And finally for me,
(00:12:00):
is this the most difficult time you’ve had as a manager,
(00:12:04):
this kind of four or five months that you’ve had here?
(00:12:07):
Because generally at Brentford,
(00:12:10):
after the opening of 10,
(00:12:11):
12 games,
(00:12:11):
it was just success all the way.
(00:12:14):
It hasn’t been like that here.
(00:12:15):
And I know you said at the beginning of the season you expected to lose some games,
(00:12:19):
but you probably didn’t expect to be sitting here at Christmas in the 14th in the
(00:12:23):
table and with a home record that is not very good,
(00:12:26):
to put it politely.
(00:12:28):
This season or in general when you speak about the... Okay, thank you.
(00:12:33):
I think that’s important.
(00:12:34):
I can only affect what I can affect.
(00:12:35):
I may be good, but I’m not that good.
(00:12:49):
I think I see a lot of similarities to my first head coach job.
(00:12:54):
Of course, completely different scale.
(00:12:56):
There’s, of course, a massive club.
(00:13:00):
One of the biggest clubs in the world,
(00:13:02):
so much focus on it,
(00:13:04):
so that makes it,
(00:13:06):
of course,
(00:13:07):
bigger and a different challenge.
(00:13:08):
But I see a lot of similarities.
(00:13:11):
When I was at my first head coach job in Brønbjørn here,
(00:13:12):
where you try to build something over time and you inherit something that you need
(00:13:19):
to try to get right with a lot of good people around me.
(00:13:25):
And then where this makes it
(00:13:31):
extra
(00:13:33):
How can you say,
(00:13:35):
challenging is of course that we also play Champions League and Premier League at
(00:13:39):
the same time and we try to improve while we are driving 100 miles an hour.
(00:13:45):
But that’s part of it, that’s a good challenge.
(00:13:48):
I think I see a lot of good things,
(00:13:49):
we improve but we of course need to,
(00:13:53):
it’s all about how can we have even more consistency in performances,
(00:13:56):
it’s all about that.
(00:13:56):
How can you create consistency in performances day in day out,
(00:14:00):
that’s the thing we’re working on every single day.
(00:14:03):
Thank you very much, likewise.
(00:14:05):
Thomas,
(00:14:06):
you said after the game the other day that you’ve been working really hard with the
(00:14:09):
team on getting over setbacks and bouncing back from setbacks.
(00:14:12):
Is that through a sports psychologist or through you or the coaches?
(00:14:16):
How does that work?
(00:14:18):
I think that’s with me and the coaches and, of course,
(00:14:25):
with the experience we had.
(00:14:26):
I worked with a lot of performance psychologists in my career and some of their
(00:14:32):
tools we tried to use,
(00:14:33):
of course.
(00:14:35):
So, reinforce good messages, good habits.
(00:14:38):
How can you install that in training?
(00:14:40):
We haven’t been able to train that much.
(00:14:42):
How can you keep talking about it before games, during games?
(00:14:45):
after games, before games.
(00:14:48):
So I think that’s a big part of it.
(00:14:55):
So for example,
(00:14:55):
even though it looked bad in Nottingham in many,
(00:14:58):
many,
(00:14:58):
many ways,
(00:14:59):
that was still...
(00:15:01):
some small good steps in a direction that don’t need underlying indicators we need
(00:15:05):
to look into.
(00:15:07):
And I think overall the team did well against Liverpool, as I said, after the game as well.
(00:15:14):
That hasn’t changed, especially afterwards they came back.
(00:15:16):
I think afterwards they came back I’m super happy with the first 30 minutes.
(00:15:21):
It was a really good, promising.
(00:15:25):
Players have got Christmas Day off, I presume you have as well.
(00:15:27):
Are you going to be able to switch off?
(00:15:28):
Can you put the phone away and just not look at it and think of football at all?
(00:15:33):
Yes,
(00:15:33):
that day I will try to get ahead of the curve and plan everything these two days
(00:15:41):
and then we have a good long day on the 26th.
(00:15:44):
That will be the main bit.
(00:15:46):
It will be good to relax a bit.
(00:15:51):
Matthew Wells leaving for his first managerial role.
(00:15:54):
How sad are you to see him go ball?
(00:15:55):
So what kind of manager do you think he could be?
(00:15:57):
He’s had a lot of influences in his career already.
(00:15:59):
Yeah, I think I’m very happy for Matt.
(00:16:03):
It’s a great opportunity for him.
(00:16:06):
And I think he’s a very talented coach.
(00:16:11):
And I think he’s got a good potential to become a good head coach.
(00:16:15):
It’s different when you stand out there on your own.
(00:16:20):
But I think he’s got all the abilities to be able to do well.
(00:16:26):
So, yeah, I wish him all the best and I really want him to do well.
(00:16:29):
Very quick follow-up on that.
(00:16:30):
Are you going to replace him?
(00:16:32):
We will definitely look in to replace him.
(00:16:36):
When and how and how that will look is not clear yet.
(00:16:42):
George, please.
(00:16:44):
Just going back to Mickie van der Ven and Alexander,
(00:16:47):
you said they’ve spoken,
(00:16:48):
was that after the game on Saturday or did Mickie call him this week when he found
(00:16:53):
out the severity of the challenge?
(00:16:54):
I just know they’ve spoken, that’s the main bit.
(00:17:00):
Fabio Paratici has been linked with and moved away,
(00:17:02):
what’s your latest understanding of what could happen potentially?
(00:17:09):
I think,
(00:17:09):
first and foremost,
(00:17:10):
it’s not the first rumour I need to speak about,
(00:17:13):
if it’s staff,
(00:17:15):
director or player.
(00:17:17):
In general,
(00:17:17):
I’m not speaking about that,
(00:17:19):
just try to focus on the Crystal Palace game and probably also something for
(00:17:24):
someone higher up in the club.
(00:17:26):
I think you’ve done a double over...
(00:17:29):
Palace last season didn’t you at Bredford so yeah can you just take anything I know
(00:17:35):
you obviously manage a different team now but can you take anything from that when
(00:17:39):
you’re playing them
(00:17:39):
hmm i think it’s two different teams so sometimes teams or yeah teams how can you
(00:17:48):
say suit each other in different ways good or bad of course i have a i know we face
(00:17:57):
a team that is very well organized i know they’re very good on the counters i know
(00:18:02):
they have such a
(00:18:04):
threat going forward I would say.
(00:18:09):
So it’s a game where you need to be super concentrated throughout it so you don’t
(00:18:13):
give too much unnecessary transitions away for example or open space to defend.
(00:18:20):
Thank you.
(00:18:23):
What sort of effect would it have, I guess, just initially losing Matty Wells?
(00:18:27):
Obviously a really highly respected coach and you obviously brought him in as well,
(00:18:32):
you kept him on this season.
(00:18:35):
Of course, when someone leaves, others need to step up and take more responsibility.
(00:18:43):
I’ll be down to Cameron and Justin and Andreas to take a step more forward.
(00:18:53):
Of course, Justin already took a big responsibility, Andreas as well.
(00:18:57):
But when someone is leaving, there will just be a little bit more to fill in for them.
(00:19:02):
But I’m confident that they are capable to do that, I think.
(00:19:08):
Back in the day, it was only one assistant you had, so I’m pretty sure we’ll survive.
(00:19:14):
And just going back to Mickie as well, you said yourself he’s a very fair player.
(00:19:18):
I don’t think anyone would call him dirty.
(00:19:20):
Are you kind of worried that Slott’s comments and how big they’ve obviously become
(00:19:26):
could sort of change the perception of,
(00:19:28):
I guess,
(00:19:28):
referees mainly around Mickie and kind of thinking he’s not a fair player as maybe
(00:19:33):
he was before?
(00:19:35):
I hope not.
(00:19:40):
I don’t really understand the comment, but that’s not for me to be too clever about.
(00:19:53):
I just think if you look at that,
(00:19:55):
there’s not too much in it and it’s the first time,
(00:19:58):
as you said,
(00:19:58):
so I don’t think it would be a problem.
(00:20:00):
And just finally, in terms of Fabio,
(00:20:03):
Have you spoken to him since Saturday?
(00:20:05):
And if you haven’t, is that kind of normal?
(00:20:07):
You’re not sort of talking to him every day?
(00:20:09):
You have different roles, obviously.
(00:20:11):
No, no.
(00:20:12):
Yeah, we spoke after the game.
(00:20:15):
Spoke both to Fabio and Johan.
(00:20:16):
So, yeah.
(00:20:18):
But these days, it’s Christmas.
(00:20:19):
So,
(00:20:21):
I think everyone,
(00:20:22):
when you have the privilege to be able to work from home,
(00:20:24):
in this case,
(00:20:24):
Johan and Fabio,
(00:20:25):
I think it’s fair they do that.
(00:20:28):
We’ll end the broadcast section there and move on to
