How pleased were you with Kurt Zouma’s performance in the Europa League and do you think he can take that into the Premier League?
I thought Kurt Zouma was very good, it looked as if it was a comfortable game for him. He’s been involved in European football for most of his career at a good level and certainly involved with Champions League winners last year so I hope that he can bring us some experience but [Thursday] I thought it looked very comfortable.
Any fitness concerns going forward into the Manchester United match?
No I don’t think so, Said [Benrahma] got a knock on his knee when he came on [against Dinamo Zagreb] but apart from that I think we’re fully available.
Is Arthur Masuaku match ready?
You can see that he’s got a bit to go regarding his sharpness and he’s got a bit to go back but we’re trying to bring him back and get him as ready as we can but is he completely ready? Probably not but he is on the way to getting ready.
What happened in the summer with Jesse Lingard? Did you want to sign him? What’s the real reason why he didn’t sign, did he turn you down?
No nothing like that at all. Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] made it clear to me quite early in the transfer window that he wanted to keep him. So I knew pretty early in the transfer window that he was staying at Manchester United. I had a private conversation with Ole who made it clear that he was staying.
Cristiano Ronaldo has made a big impact at Manchester United. He’s one to stop isn’t he? Did you try to sign him when you were Manchester United manager?
No he hadn’t long left, I would like to say yes. But no.
How do you go about stopping Ronaldo?
He’s an unbelievable sort of killer, as far as scoring goals. I hope we can turn Mickey Antonio into a killer of a goalscorer because Ronaldo started as a wide player, and ended up becoming a terrific number nine, so I hope that we can do the same with Mic in the years to come. But, Ronaldo is an excellent player he has brought another level of excitement to the Premier League, and we will do everything we can to keep him quiet.
Obviously a lot of water under the bridge since you left United. What are your thoughts on United now and how do you see them as a club compared to your time there?
I think that Manchester United always have to be competitive, trying to win trophies, they’re trying to win the Premier League that’s what that club does. From that point of view, I think they’ve given themselves a great chance, they have a really good balance of youth and experience in the squad now. I think Ole has been given a real good chance to build the squad and the team, and I’ve got to say I think he’s doing a good job, he’s certainly got a team which is more than capable this year of winning the Premier League and being very competitive.
What are your thoughts on the booing of West Ham taking of the knee?
Well, my thoughts are we are fully behind the taking of a knee. We decided as a team, as a club before it is what we should do. What other people do and what other people think, is not really my interest but all I know is that we are a very diverse football club. We play in a very diverse league in the Premier League, and because of that, we show solidarity and we are all together.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been given a lot of time at Manchester United and a lot of faith with a new contract. I think a lot of people would have liked to have seen you given that amount of time, do you ever think back to that?
Yeah, I do because I see it as a huge opportunity to manage the biggest club in the world. And I don’t blame anybody else bar myself. I needed to win more games. If you manage the biggest club in the world then you have to win the games and unfortunately, I didn’t win enough games but, Ole is doing a really good job. I think all managers at any club would always ask for some time and if you can get that chance then it certainly helps you to build your squad and let you put your thoughts over to the team.
It is going to be a terrific occasion on Sunday, you must be relishing it despite your many years in the game?
I’m really looking forward to it because the London Stadium was incredible against Leicester City and against Crystal Palace. I think we have a different West Ham support in the stadium. We’ve got great support behind the team and I think they are seeing a new more exciting team as well. So from that point of view we are hoping for a rocking stadium, but it won’t be anything that Manchester United aren’t used to wherever they go, you know that they’re going up against teams who bring big support and they’re used to the situation.
With Ronaldo arriving could the message regarding Lingard from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer change anytime soon?
I can’t talk about players from other clubs because that’s not really the way we do it, but because Jesse was part of our club for a wee while all I can say is that he made a massive contribution to the team, both on the pitch and off the pitch. We really enjoyed having him. I hope in many ways Jesse will look at the time and how well the players treated him and made him welcome that Jesse would look at that as well, so it may change. He was great for us, but simply the manager told me that he was keeping him and when that happens I believe the manager and that’s the way it went.
