patrick vieira manager
Team news?
Nathan Ferguson and Joel Ward will not be part of the game tomorrow, all the others trained this morning.
Is there a concern about a lack of goals?
It’s the concern, scoring goals and not conceding goals. The game is all about taking your chances and being solid defensively to not concede the goals. We are creating enough chances to score more goals so we have to keep persevering and working hard and try to score those goals.
Looking at the league table, is this a massive game now?
It’s important, there’s no doubt about it. But we know that every game has its challenges and is important. We never take anything for granted and we are not putting the emphasis on where we are in the table. We know where we are. We know what we want to achieve and how to play. We need to go to the field and perform for 95 minutes. When you’re looking at the game vs Chelsea and you look at when we concede the goal, it’s something we need to focus on more, those details. We’re looking at the process, the way we want to play is positive, we need more to turn those performances into a draw or a win.
Looking forward to facing Roy Hodgson?
The main focus will be the way we want to play and the performances that we have to put in on the day to win the game. Nobody will take away what Roy did at this football club, he spent four years here and did a fantastic job.
Only seven touches for Romelu Lukaku, how did you keep him quiet?
It wasn’t only about Lukaku. It was about every player in the Chelsea team. We needed a good team performance out of possession and we did it until the 88th minute. We knew that when the ball is wide we need to defend that area and be really close to Lukaku to not get him the touch. I believe Cheikhou Kouyate and James McArthur in front of the two centre-backs did really good work. Overall the team performance didn’t allow him to touch so many balls.
Do you think it’s time for temporary concussion substitutes?
That has to be one of the options. We want to be sure that the players are OK. This is why we fully trust in the medical staff to make that decision becasue it is their responsibility. At the same time, we have to think about the different options to think about how we can manage those situations better.
What kind of platform did Roy Hodgson leave you?
The foundation of the club is really solid and Roy was one of the people who put the foundations in place to allow the next manager to come and to work. He brought stability to the club, players with experience that allowed me to come to the club and count on some of those players who know the club really well. This is what he left the club.
He’s only been at Watford a short while but they’ve kept a rare clean sheet last time out. Have you been impressed with how tough he’s made them to beat already?
I’m not surprised at all, his experience and how many years he’s been involved in the game, he knows what a team needs to get points and he’s doing a good job.
Pleased with Will Hughes?
It took a couple of weeks for him to get into training because the last couple of weeks at Watford he didn’t play so many games, he came back physically in a really good place and he needed time to understand his role and responsibility on the field. Now I’m really happy with what he brings to the team.
He can play up and down the midfield. How does he get the balance?
It’s always about what you want and expect from him. He’s a player who can be part of the build-up because of his vision and his technical ability to make the ball move from one side to another. He can play a little bit higher on one side of the field because he’s smart enough to see the ball through the lines and his final pass is really good as well. I allow myself to use him in both situations if needed.
He’s said he likes that your door is open, is he regularly pestering you for tips?
We always like to give feedback about the games. He’s one of a few players who likes to review his game and get feedback. It’s really interesting talking to him because he wants to improve and to know what he can take from the next game to improve. He’s really interesting to work with.
How do you feel about results vs performances?
At the minute the frustration is dominant. When you’re looking at all the games, the way we concede late in a game or the mistakes we make, it is frustrating. We need to improve the way that we manage in difficult periods in the game. The goals we conceded against Chelsea is something we can avoid.
Do you ever think that if a few games had gone differently, you’d be higher up? Or is there no point dwelling on that?
It’s about being realistic. That’s where we are, and about us playing football but we don’t win matches. We need to turn the good performances into a win. We need to understand where we are and what we need to do to win matches.
Is it challenging to work out the correct attacking approach due to so many options?
It’s about choosing the right profile regarding what I want and the way we want to play the game. We have different options and are happy with what they’re doing in training but I want more from them. I want them to be more clinical in front of the goal and I want them to deliver more because they have the quality and the potential to do it.
Planning to surprise Roy?
Not at all. We just need to stick to what we’ve been doing from the beginning of the season and try to improve those details to allow us to win football matches.
Are these two games an opportunity to establish the gap to relegation?
I look at the table and know where we are. I don’t try to hide the situation of the league table. We need to win football matches. Compared to some teams we’re in a good palace but we know it’s important to win, and we need to bounce back as soon as possible. We want to go back to winning games because it’s important to get momentum and confidence back.
Roy one of the few managers who has gone abroad, is that valuable for British managers to do?
You may not give enough credit to British managers who are doing really good jobs. It’s about the career and experience you want, the opportunities. Roy had a wonderful experience going to Italy, Sweden, travelling all around the world to coach. This is something that he wanted to do and it depends on the experience you want and the options you have.
