00:00 Scott, thank you for joining us. Another exciting test to come this weekend as we travel to
00:07 Crewe. Can I get your thoughts ahead of that game?
00:10 Well we certainly can't play like we did in the last game against Crewe because it would
00:14 be a cricket score. We're really focused. We had a good debrief session on the early
00:21 part of the week and a really honest session. Players spoke out and we've cleared a few
00:29 things up which is good. So yeah, it's been a positive week again, which it normally is.
00:35 But it's all about the performance. We've got 18 games left, we've got 54 points to
00:42 play for and we feel as a group that we've got to attack every single game like it's
00:47 a cup final in order for us to get anywhere near where we want to get. So let's hope that
00:55 we take that into the game and we really attack the game like I think we're more than capable
01:01 of doing.
01:02 We spoke after the game on Saturday and we said that it was perhaps more of a mental
01:05 thing than an actual football thing on Saturday. Is the reaction from the players giving you
01:10 a lot of clarity over the weekend and are you happy with how they've responded?
01:14 Yeah, I'm happy with the response but time will tell obviously after the game on Saturday
01:19 we'll see where we are. But I think that there was tactical things that wasn't quite right
01:24 in the game. We were very negative within our play. We showed a lot of clips where potentially
01:30 we could pass forward and we don't. We turn it down and go back. We play off Corrie far
01:36 too much for me. As much as we want to be a football possession-based team, we also
01:42 want to be aggressive and play through the opposition and play through the pitch quicker
01:48 with more aggression and to try and create goal scoring opportunities. Where we find
01:54 ourselves is getting in that final third or over the halfway line and we're too reluctant
02:02 to pass forward. We chop back round and go back, back, back and Corrie ends up back with
02:06 the ball again and for me that's too negative. There is times when that's good play. Certainly
02:11 if you're winning a game with five minutes to go it's good play because you're resting
02:14 with the ball but when you're chasing a deficit it's not good play. I think that we got that
02:21 wrong and I felt that defensively we were poor in moments of the game. Like I said,
02:27 the players have been really honest about that. Let's hope we see a big improvement
02:32 Saturday.
02:33 You've already mentioned our last game against Crewe. That obviously at the time was a bit
02:37 of a shock. It was one of our bigger defeats of the season. Crewe since then have really
02:41 gone from strength to strength. They're out there battling for the automatic places with
02:45 some really big teams which a lot of people haven't really put them to do at the start
02:49 of the season. So I suppose it's more just a case of we know what we can expect from
02:52 them and it's just going to be an equally as hard game as it was the first time around.
02:55 For sure. Lee Bell has done an unbelievable job there. I agree. I think that probably
03:01 a lot of people would have felt that they would be nowhere near where they are and I
03:05 think they've done an unbelievable job. They've got some good players' minds and they've
03:11 got a good way of playing. They play with passes from deep. They have really good rotations
03:19 on the side of the pitch, certain roll-outs that we're aware of. Of course they've got
03:25 some really good attacking players as well but they've done brilliant. He's done a
03:32 great job and fair play to them. Let's hope that we can upset the apple cart a little
03:37 bit on Saturday. It would have been a little bit too early perhaps to assess the two new
03:41 signings with a lot of match prep. After the deadline day on Thursday, you've had almost
03:47 a full week now to have a look at Mustapha and Jeremy. Obviously Jeremy arriving from
03:51 the United States this week. How have those two been in training? They've both settled
03:55 in really well. We've trained every day and the training sessions that we've put on,
04:03 we've been able to run our eye over both of them. They both look like good players in
04:09 their own right. Jeremy's an exciting player who's very comfortable with the ball. An athlete
04:15 as well, he can run, he can cover the pitch but can also play in different positions at
04:21 the top of the pitch. He can play in the number 10 positions, right and left. He can play
04:26 in the wide areas as well. He likes playing off the left and cutting in with his right
04:31 foot. He can play on the right and taking players down the outside. He's a real good
04:36 footballer and a good engine as well. Mustapha is a centre-half defender who's very comfortable
04:45 in possession. Again, a good athlete, he can run and aggressive when defending as well
04:52 which is probably something that we've needed. I'm really pleased with the two that we've
04:56 brought in. Scott, when you've done your analysis on
05:00 Kroo this week, did you look back at the game here or have you looked more recently at what
05:06 Kroo have done? No, I've concentrated on their past two games
05:12 really because personnel has changed slightly. I looked at the last two games and they were
05:24 very good in both games. Like I say, they have real clear rotations, roll-outs and people
05:32 moving into different positions which the players are really prepped on. They're a good
05:39 side, they've got some good players, they've got a centre-half who can hit unbelievable
05:44 diagonal balls from one side of the pitch to the other. If he's in more of a central
05:49 position he can actually ping the ball both sides of the pitch on a sixpence. A very,
05:56 very good player. They've got some good midfield players and some real attacking threats as
06:01 well. We have to be at our very best. We're looking forward to the game. We've spoke
06:08 as a group and we look at the fact that we've got 18 games left now which is 54 points to
06:14 play for. Our destiny is in our hands we feel. All we can do is do our best in every game
06:25 and almost play every game like a cup final. This one's the most important one because
06:29 it's the next one. I know it's a cliché but it is the next one so that's the only one
06:32 we're focused on. We're going to try and attack the game and be aggressive with the way we
06:41 play. We've spoke about certain things today and yesterday and early part of the week about
06:47 how we can improve on where we've been poor. I've seen an improvement already in attitudes
06:56 to do the hard yards on the training ground and let's hope we see that on Saturday.
07:02 On Saturday, the Morecambe game, you said you were too nice. I looked back at your post-match
07:07 after the Crewe game and you said exactly the same thing. You said you were too nice.
07:11 I did a little bit of homework and looked at the stats between the two games and they
07:14 were almost not far from being identical in terms of possession. You dominated possession
07:19 etc. What is it about the play that's too nice? Can you just go into that a little bit
07:25 more? Is it the attacking threat or is it challenges?
07:29 I think both. I think we can be more aggressive in both halves of the pitch. I think we play
07:36 really good football but we get to a point where we get into the top third and we don't
07:43 tread on them. I use that expression to the players quite a lot. We need to tread on them
07:48 when we get them in there and we've got them where we want them. We need to now be aggressive
07:52 within our actions whether it's a run off the ball or a slide pass or a shot or a cross.
07:57 We've got to go for it a little bit and I think we tend to turn down opportunities to
08:03 tread on them. We come back round and almost make it really easy for the opposition. From
08:11 a defensive point of view I feel that the opposition has had too much space to hurl.
08:20 I think Corey's made more saves than any other keeper in the division which tells a story.
08:26 It tells a story that the opposition get in too many times. I don't necessarily think
08:31 that it's just the defenders. I honestly believe that it's a transition where the ball turns
08:37 over at the top of the pitch and we're so open and spread because of our expansive football
08:42 that we don't run back into our slots quick enough. It's a mentality thing where I feel
08:48 that we've got to have a real aggression about us when we press, which I think we do. I think
08:52 we press the team really well but once the ball's gone south we now need to run south
08:57 and not just be a team that runs north and wants to make runs forward because we've got
09:04 the ball. We've got to run really hard when we haven't got it. I've got a little saying
09:07 in training where when we've got the ball certain players run. When the opposition have
09:14 the ball everybody runs and that's what we've got to do better.
09:18 You mentioned Corey there. How impressed have you been? There was a time when Luca was the
09:22 league starting goalkeeper. Corey got his place back. How impressed have you been with
09:27 him?
09:28 He's saved us really. It could have been a lot more damage to our goals against for sure.
09:36 He's saved us in a lot of moments but that's what he's paid for. That is what he's paid
09:42 for. I think he's done incredibly well. I think he can improve. I still think he can
09:50 improve certainly with the ball. I think he's somebody who wants to make passes but I think
09:56 his decision making can be quicker and snappier. I think he's done incredibly well. He can
10:03 pass the ball but he can also smash the ball in behind as well. He's very, very good at
10:07 that. He's got all the attributes to be a very, very good goalkeeper. I think he's done
10:13 excellent. If it wasn't for him we could have probably conceded a lot more than we have.
10:18 Looking at the other end of the pitch last week you said it would be great if you could
10:22 get another someone to back up or see up front. That never materialised in the transfer window.
10:27 How frustrating was that that you couldn't get a deal over the line for him?
10:33 I'm not somebody who will spend time and energy thinking about that. It's gone. I've got a
10:41 really good group of lads now and that's it. There's no energy spent on worrying about
10:48 what could have been. Let's worry about what's going to be. That's the way I am and that's
10:54 the end of the matter.
10:55 Looking at Saturday's game, any squad-wise, any fitness problems?
11:02 Fitness-wise, no. I think everybody's a full compliment. Obviously, Ben Gladwin is a bit
11:10 of a longer term one but everybody's fit.
