What is your reaction following the death of joint-chairman David Gold?
David Gold was incredibly supportive to me personally. Wanted me to stay after the first time and was thrilled when I came back the second time. He was a regular visitor to the training ground at Rush Green when he came in and saw us for his dinner. He was an old man, but a good man and when he talked, he was a sensible man. It’s a big miss for us, but obviously his family is the biggest, they’ll be really disappointed to lose him but he hasn’t been well for a little while. Everybody’s really saddened by it.
What did you make of the performance?
Okay, we fought hard. I thought it was a sort of good old fashioned game at times. I thought when we went 2-1 up we would go on and win the game and actually, if anything, we gave the game back to Leeds United. We shouldn’t have done it. I thought after we got the second goal, we then started to make mistakes with the ball and not doing things as well as we should have done. We rode a wee bit of luck, but I thought we deserved it at times.
Is your biggest frustration from the game not making your lead stronger at 2-1?
Yes, I thought so. I just felt that we had to control the game a bit better when we went 2-1 up than we did. We had a little spell but we just gave away a couple of stupid passes and got caught in a couple of defensive mistakes, which obviously let them back into the game.
You have wanted Gianluca Scamaaca and Lucas Paqueta to score more goals. How pleased were you to see both score?
Well, one’s a penalty kick so I don’t know if you can count that as an out and out goal but Gianluca has got that type of goal in him. I need him to start scoring ones inside the box and headers and tap-ins and things off the goalkeeper. I’m really pleased for him and hopefully, it can give him confidence to build up and score more for us.
How pleased were you with the resilience shown to come back from 1-0 down?
Really pleased. Even though we were under a wee bit of pressure, I didn’t think we necessarily deserved to [be behind]. We made a couple of passing mistakes at the back, I thought we looked okay but when we went a goal down, I thought here we go again. We’ve lost a couple of goals now from throw-ins, terrible. Two tonight from thrown ins, two tonight against Brentford from throw ins. It’s obviously something we need to try and do better at.
Was the result a step in the right direction?
It felt like a step in the right direction. Getting a point away from home at Leeds United is a good result for lots of teams and it is for us at the moment. I actually felt like we missed an opportunity to get all three, I really do.
What did you make of Nayef Aguerd’s full Premier League debut?
Okay, I think he is a really talented footballer. Tonight wasn’t the easiest place to come and start but he got through it. He will get better the more games he gets in the Premier League.
What is the latest on Kurt Zouma’s injury?
I don’t think he is too far away. He has been out on the grass quite a bit. He had a virus a week or two ago which has kept him back a week but we think he’s not too far away.
When did you learn of David Gold’s passing?
I’ve got to say that David Gold hasn’t been at all the games lately because he’s not been well. We were all probably aware that he might not be at the game but I didn’t think he was quite as close as what happened today. We heard the news in mid-morning in training. He was really important, a big part of the club and a big West Ham supporter as well. There’s been a lot of talk about David Gold and David Sullivan and I’ve got to say, the only times I have been with David Gold, he was desperate for West Ham to do well. Everything he did, he tried to do the best. He wanted only the best. He is a director, puts his money in and trying to do the best he possibly can. He will be missed and probably be missed more by David Sullivan and Karren Brady who’ve worked with him for a long, long time.
Was David Gold a stabilising influence?
Yeah, but David Sullivan has been equally as good, if not better. I’ve been speaking to him regularly and he has been fantastic in his support and his backing. They have been really, really good and encouraging me and the team, want us to get back in form and move up the table, that’s the plan. We’ve got a European campaign, we’re set for that when we get to March. There are a lot of things that have happened in the last two and a half years that probably give them the confidence to think they’ve got a manager they can trust and they can work with.
