Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Saturday, Harmer and Moore had issues post-game, so how are they today?
00:07Kiefer, I think Kiefer will be touch and go. He lost half a stone.
00:14Really?
00:15Yeah, and quite a lot of people quite like to do that.
00:18Not in those circumstances.
00:19After Christmas, but not in those circumstances, yeah.
00:23So, we're going to have to monitor how he is from that point of view.
00:28And Gus is okay. So, delighted. We talked about it afterwards, didn't we?
00:34There's quite a few of those boys that are in the red zone, as we say.
00:39In quite a dangerous place. Davis and O'Hare and a couple of others.
00:46So, I think we're going to have to take that into account in terms of the selection for the team on Thursday night as well.
00:51You've mentioned on a few occasions that there is this group of five or six players who are getting back into it.
00:58Are any of them in the mind for tomorrow? Is it just Norwich?
01:01No, it's Norwich. And as well, I'm incredibly enthusiastic about getting those boys back,
01:09just to make life easier really and give us some more strength in depth.
01:14But, I don't want to lead anybody on. These boys won't automatically be able to play 95 minutes in a top-end championship game.
01:24So, there's going to have to be a build-in there as well.
01:28But, just to get them back involved, and as you imagine, for the end of the week,
01:33we'll have all of them back, apart from the obvious Blaster and Harry Souter.
01:41So, with that in mind then, how deep into the reserves are you going for this fixture?
01:47Yeah, we're going. And I don't want to kid anybody on.
01:49It really is because we're of a mindset at this football club that we want to win every game of football that we take part in.
01:57Whether it's a pre-season game, whether it's an end-of-season game, whatever it is.
02:01Under-21s, under-18s, kids' game, we have to have that.
02:05We talked about it on Saturday at length, didn't we?
02:07Afterwards, lots of talks about performance, which I totally get.
02:11And if you're playing well, you give yourself the best opportunity of winning games of football.
02:14But sometimes, you really have to grind one out, which I was incredibly proud about,
02:19about how the group went about it on Saturday.
02:25But, not to kid anybody, this is going to be a changed team, without a shadow of a doubt.
02:32I've spoke to the owners about it, I've spoke to Steve Betts about it.
02:35Our, obviously, priority is doing well in our division, and we are doing at the moment.
02:43And I can't afford anybody to suffer in the medium to long term.
02:50So, there will be opportunities for a lot of the kids.
02:53It'll be a changed team.
02:55But still, we'll have that mindset of going and doing our best and giving it a go and trying to get through to the next round.
03:01Well, this is their chance to show that that mentality runs right through, doesn't it?
03:05That, regardless of whether you're an emerging player in the youth team or what have you,
03:10or a nearly player, I suppose, you've got to pull the shirt on and play.
03:13Well, it has been since I walked through the door, Andy, in terms of 2016.
03:17When I walked through the door, I thought we were just an easy target.
03:21And we were milky and we're soft.
03:23And that was right the way through the club, in my opinion.
03:28And it's something that I needed to change because it's not what I want it to look like.
03:32We're the out-run, out-fight part and out-play as well.
03:38But we're here to win, and that goes right the way through, through the academy.
03:43And I think that's the reason you see these young boys emerging into the first-team group and their attitude as well,
03:50because they've been brought up with that mentality.
03:55So, yeah, I mean, listen, I don't think, like I said before,
04:00you don't get to, from a personal point of view, or win games of football like we have done over quite a long period of time without wanting to win.
04:09So we'll want to win on Thursday night, regardless of what the opposition play or regardless of what team.
04:15But quite rightly, as you said, these young players have got a great opportunity now to go and give a good first impression
04:22or a second impression or a third impression, whatever it is.
04:25But first impressions for everybody are massive.
04:28So hopefully, you know, they can do that.
04:30They did extremely well against Wrexham.
04:33Really enjoyable night early on in the Carabao Cup when we went through.
04:38Not so enjoyable one when we played Barnsley away.
04:43But it's an opportunity there to get some minutes into players.
04:47I think Omar Cardiff has said exactly the same, but I think maybe their backups might be just a touch stronger than ours at the moment.
04:55But we're giving opportunities to young players, some boys that need games of football, Rhys Norrington-Davies, Sam McCallum,
05:02a couple of the others, Marshie, young Ryan as well.
05:06So, you know, we'll give it a go and hopefully we can get through to the next round.
05:10Even in the summer, you were talking about having to use some of the youth team players or the emerging players from the reserves.
05:18But how much, given the form and where you are, have maybe they even surpassed what you thought they might be capable of?
05:23Oh, 100 per cent, yeah. 100 per cent.
05:27Yeah, it's been the same since pre-season, hasn't it?
05:31When you looked at the line-ups when we were playing pre-season games.
05:35But, you know, off that, of course, we'd have liked to have had a stronger squad going into the season.
05:40But off that, the by-product to that is, or the flip side is, it does open it up for these young players.
05:47So, the likes of Femi would have maybe not got an opportunity and Sidi wouldn't have got much of a...
05:53Well, he would have got an opportunity.
05:56And always you have to come through past.
05:59If they want to forge a career, they've got to come through and past competitors in the group.
06:06So, you know, it's an internal fight, as we say as well.
06:12You know, everybody wants to play.
06:14Of course, it's not negative.
06:20It's not bitchy.
06:23You know, it's not personal.
06:25But it's a fight internally to be better than the player that's in your position and the competition that's in and around you.
06:34And that's what it has to look like and has to be like that.
06:38And I'm sure it will be going into the last 20 games of the season when we get those players back.
06:44And here we go.
06:46When are we moving on to what you want to talk about more importantly?
06:51Well, I could have left it, but as soon as you mentioned it...
06:54I'm sure you wouldn't.
06:56Look, yes, I realise it's only a couple of days since we saw you at Watford.
07:00So, all right then.
07:01In between the two days...
07:04I'm not going to give you any more names, but what I will say...
07:07Progress.
07:08Yeah, progress.
07:09Yeah, good progress.
07:10Right.
07:11To what extent then?
07:12Yeah, not a million miles off.
07:15We'd like to think, you know, we will have bodies in for the Norwich game.
07:20And, you know, before, because I can't just, you know...
07:25It's not turn up at 10 for an 11 o'clock kick-off and sign a form just before.
07:31So, there might be a medical involved and there might be some...
07:35Some, hopefully, preparation for that game for the players coming in.
07:41So, ideally, of course, early as possible.
07:44Ideally, for the week leading up to the Norwich game.
07:48But, as you know, you've been in it long enough, possibly about the same time as me.
07:55Probably.
07:56Going back to where we started.
07:58Yeah.
07:59You know, there's a lot of things that have to happen in terms of getting these boys over the line.
08:04I mean, as you mentioned it then, are you at the stage with medicals and stuff?
08:09Has it got to that point?
08:11Not really.
08:12Not really, but ongoing talks and progression is key.
08:19All the players that we've identified want to come here, which is great.
08:23And we're their preferred choice.
08:27We have got lists if we don't succeed in getting them over the line.
08:33And made contact with those players as well.
08:38But then the tough part is the negotiations from club to club.
08:44And from agents being involved as well.
08:48So, yeah.
08:50Let's hope and I'm sure our hard work will be rewarded in terms of the week leading up to the Norwich game.
09:02And certainly the team sheet when the team sheets get announced against Norwich.
09:07It would be remiss of me at this stage not to mention the jungle drums beat the loudest for Diaz and Chowdhury.
09:13Yeah, and loads of other players.
09:16Loads of other players.
09:17But I think Ben talked about it the other day.
09:20And he was an obvious one not playing in the team.
09:23And he was here last season.
09:26So, and other players as well.
09:30Connection with Bamse and Jose at Watford and connections with other players as well.
09:36So, you know, position specific.
09:39I think that's what we're going on.
09:42Replacement for Suter.
09:48Somebody on the top line.
09:49And maybe some physicality and legs in the middle of the park.
09:55Well, sadly you've got three because of Harry's injury.
10:00Harry's injury, you've got three loans to play with.
10:03Is there any scope for permanence this window?
10:06Yeah, we've talked about it.
10:07Yeah, yeah, we've talked about it.
10:09Talked with the owners on a Zoom call yesterday afternoon as well.
10:13So, no, interesting, really interesting Zoom call as well with a data company that we're going to get involved in, which is really good as well.
10:25So, opening up different avenues to recruitment.
10:29So the boys have worked extremely hard in terms of identifying players.
10:32We've all got our fingerprints all over it.
10:35So the balance, but data, as we all know, artificial intelligence and the human eye as always.
10:46And from always we talk about, you know, the fit.
10:50So trying to bring all that together.
10:52So new owners are very positive in terms of trying to help us out medium and long term as well.
11:01Was part of this Zoom call a timescale to sit down with you and Alan, et cetera, to get your future sorted out?
11:09That will take care of itself.
11:11You know, I've said enough about that, Andy, you know, in terms of, you know, just the feeling that I had after the game on Saturday,
11:20you know, how tough it has been for everybody over that short period and how we all felt and felt about the performance.
11:27So I'm not going to apologise for how I felt about it and how I feel about the club.
11:33But that will all take care of itself.
11:35So that's in good hands and discussions are ongoing.
11:40With the football club, with Stephen Bettis and the people that represent me, I don't need to get involved now.
11:46I just need to concentrate on what the main event is,
11:49which is continuing our good work that we've so far produced leading up to this Cup game and leading up to the last 20 games of the season.