What is your reaction to the result?
It was an own goal in the end. On reflection, a draw might have been the right result. Genk caused us problems in the opening 20 minutes they started better and we needed our goalkeeper to make two or three saves. I thought after that we had the majority of the play and probably we should have created more opportunities. We got two goals and it looked as if it was going to be enough but in the end lots of credit to Genk.
Did you pay for the open start?
I’d slightly altered a couple of things to see how it would work and if it would go for us and I changed it around after 20 minutes or so. We are trying to rotate the squad and make the most of what we’ve got. After that we played well, some of it was good but we could not get the simple finish at times we were looking for.
Did Genk surprise you?
No because we had done our homework. I thought they started the game much better than us which we were aware they were at home and I think that for Genk it was almost a free hit it was a game they probably had to try and win and and take some points out of and they played very well especially that early period, but when we got a grip off a little bit better, I thought we we looked as if we could score we probably should have had a goal before half-time and we didn’t but I thought second half we were much better.
Thoughts on Benrahma?
Fantastic. I thought Benrahma played well tonight and I thought he did a lot of good things which in recent games I have not been quite so sure but today he has played well for us and obviously got a couple of goals for us as well which will help him. But the first goal was great, great what a goal and it was a great individual goal. The second goal so good.
Looking ahead to Liverpool do you go in with a different mentality?
We’ve got a different mentality throughout the club. But you see games against Manchester City and Manchester United they make you suffer with the ball because they’re so good on the ball and at times it is very hard to be aggressive and press on the ball because they are so good. You have to try and keep the ball from and hopefully affect them in any way we can but we’ll certainly try and give them the best game we can.
What does it mean to have 1,000 games under your belt?
I’ve not taken it in yet. I think as a manager you know we really always reflecting on the last minute which is tonight. And I’ll pick myself up a wee bit later tonight. Tomorrow get ready for the next one. But every manager I see who has reached 1,000 games I say ‘wow how the heck have they got 1,000 games’ I look at it and think ‘my goodness’ So it’s quite hard to believe I got there myself tonight and it’s a moment I’ll really remember because the game away in Europe will always be remembered… for Tomas Soucek’s own goal! With a couple of minutes to go! But overall I am thrilled to reach a thousand games. It is a great achievement.
What did you make of the West Ham fans?
I thought the away fans were fabulous. They were great, right from the start, they were incredible. They were in the ground very early but I think in the Premier League our away fans have been very good and we appreciated it. They were all looking forward to the European games they were all really looking forward to because it’s something which we’ve not had.
How do you reflect on your 1,000th game?
It’s been interesting people have been asking me about 1000 games and saying ‘what has been your best moment and actually it becomes blurred because of so many years and moment to identify one thing which is better than others is really hard. Part of being a manager is being consistent throughout your career So that probably is the reason why I’m still in it for a decent level of consistency.
Do you have a tough decision at right-back between Coufal and Johnson against Liverpool?
Very tough because Ben Johnson has been playing really well. Vladimir Coufal everybody’s aware of how well done for us over the last 18 months or so. But I want the competition and the pleasing thing is when Vladamir got injured and Ryan Fredericks was injured at the time Ben stepped up. So we’ve been pleased with Ben but he’s had four games in a row very quickly. So today was in was an easy decision to leave him out the team tonight put Vladimir in.
What aspects pleased you about Benrahma tonight?
Tonight he really pleased me because I thought tonight he released the ball at the right moment more often today. I saw the individual actions he took, I thought more of them came off. So we’re making sure that Benrahma is well aware of what the standards are and what we expect of him. But I’m really pleased for him today that he got the goals because he needs it as well. I think he needs it himself for a little bit of confidence. But overall I thought he was a much better team player tonight and I was really pleased how he played.
