Does Friday have a massive game feeling?
I do my very best to focus on every single opponent, whether it is Watford, Leeds or Man Utd.
70-year-old Claudio Ranieri will be in the away dugout. What do you think you’ll be doing at 70?
It’s crazy. He won the Premier League when he was 65 and you’re continuing just like [Roy] Hodgson, when he was 74. I admire that a lot because that passion and dedication, and that love for the game, I think is fantastic. I love the game very much, I feel very privileged every single day I go to work and I would like to do this for many years, but I’m always aware of that it is a very demanding job in many ways, and other aspects in life. So if you ask me now, I think I’ll be involved one way or another.
Have you developed any superstitions?
No.
Does the fact that Charlie Goode and Shandon Baptiste playing nine Championship games between them last season, make their contribution even more incredible?
Yes, 100%. I think that Shandon had a big injury at the beginning of the season, and Charlie was very unlucky with some injuries and illness, so it’s just remarkable that they can step in and help the team. I think it shows a lot about their mental strength and determination, but also a lot about my medical and performance staff who have done a top job to prepare them to be ready for the Premier League.
With Ivan Toney out with COVID and Sergi Canos suspended, who is likely to partner Bryan Mbeumo upfront, Marcus Forss or Yoane Wissa?
If I have, I will not tell you! That is for Watford to guess about, I would say that those two are options of course. There is also Saman Ghoddos, who played as a two striker role earlier in his career so I have a couple of solutions that I’m working on, and we’ve worked on today and we’ll work on tomorrow, before I take the decision.
With another huge game against Man Utd almost 96 hours later, will you be tempted to make a small number of changes and take some players off in order to be fresh for Tuesday?
Nope, that’s a very simple and short answer. I only focus on one game at a time.
