What did you make of the performance the result?
I thought we had a lot of the ball, we controlled the game for long periods. Silkeborg caused us problems even though we got in front. The biggest thing tonight was we didn’t get the goals at the end of it. I’ve sort of been moaning about that, we’ve not been clinical, not getting the finish that would’ve made things a lot easier. But, look, we had good control of the game and in the main deserved the victory.
When did you decide on Nayef Aguerd starting?
Only yesterday. I had to see how he was and I actually didn’t tell him until today. He’s a really good athlete, in good shape but he still hasn’t got any match practice, hasn’t been involved in an awful lot of physicality. The game worked out very good for him, the type of game it was. He controlled the game, passed it well, got into a couple of races which he showed he’s capable of and it was a really good game for him. Hopefully that’s the start for him.
Was that a tough decision?
We’ve been speaking for the last week or two, he’s been speaking about the plans for when we get him in and I think I said before, if our Under-21s had been at home at the weekend then I probably would have played him in that. The idea was do we start him or do we not but we’d been a bit short of centre-halves so that actually forced my hand a little bit to start him. I’m trying to give some people some rest and not play them every game.
Do you think he’s ready to be in a Premier League squad, even on the bench?
I’m not sure I’m ready to do that with him yet, no. I think that I want to give him the chance to come back. I want to put him back and I want people to see exactly what he is and I just want to be as ready as I can. Could I? I think I could. Would I? Yes, I certainly would but ideally I don’t because I think I want him to build himself up and be correct when he comes into the team.
Where was Jarrod Bowen tonight?
Jarrod Bowen had a bit of an ankle injury. I will asses it tomorrow, see how he is.
Is it a serious looking one?
I don’t know yet, I don’t think it’s too bad but we will see tomorrow.
How long do you think Aguerd needs to get to the level of playing in the Premier League?
That’s his first game in I don’t know, three months, he came back in pre-season and went out in the [second] game so he’s probably not played any football for the best part of five or six months. I’m not going to be putting any time on it, I’m not going to say it’s so many games, I think it’s us just getting him ready. He’s going to the World Cup with Morocco which will help us I think because he’ll play for Morocco.
How important was that win given the fixture congestion?
Hugely important with the way the season has gone. It was hugely important last season when we won the group last season as well. Great credit to the players to be in Europe for the first time in the last two years and win the group last year, win the group this year. Playing in Europe, that’s fantastic. I even think the crowd of maybe 35,000 tonight or something, there will be very few crowds anywhere else much bigger than what we have had here just now. Great credit to the support, but mainly to the players for the last couple of years.
Is it pleasing to make nine changes and win? Especially ahead of facing Manchester United on Sunday?
You answered it. We changed the team around tonight. We have just finished this one. Maybe wait until tomorrow and I might be ready to answer questions about the next game.
What did you make of Conor Coventry’s performance?
I thought Conor played really well tonight. I could easily have kept him on. I was a bit wary of the booking. I thought the referee was booking quite easily tonight and I was worried anything could slip. And it just made sense at the end of the game to put on another couple of players to see us through till the end.
Had you hoped not to bring on your big names towards the end?
We were bringing them on Tomas (Soucek) and Dec (Rice) tonight. In fact, if Conor had not played as well as he did, the boys would have been on earlier. Conor played that well, Lanzini played well but those boys were coming on tonight. I am keeping them going, keeping them in a rhythm, keeping Declan playing at the standards he has been playing at. They were always coming on tonight.
How good is Conor Coventry?
Conor is a good player and it has been difficult to get him some minutes. We have had Flynn and with the competition we have got it has been difficult. Conor had plenty of chances to leave but we wanted him to stay. He is such a good lad and a good trainer. He is a great competitor. He is the captain of the Republic of Ireland Under-21s. We had Josh Cullen who is very similar that here. Went to Anderlecht and Burnley. Playing for the full Republic team. Wouldn’t surprise me if Conor followed the same path. He is doing great and we like him a lot. He had the chance to go in the summer.
Will you consider loaning him out in January to get him some more minutes?
He had a chance to go out in the summer, and he had a couple of good clubs [interested], but we like having him because he’s such a good boy. He’s low maintenance, trains great, great with the rest of the players. He’s a good boy to have around.
How relieved are you to not have to worry about the FCSB game?
We’d like to make some plans, what we can do, how we can see things. This means we have a fee hit going to Bucharest, we’ve earned the right to do so. We’ve got a games schedule. This week, for example, we’ve had two days recovery after Bournemouth for tonight, and then we’ve got two days recovery before we play Manchester United. Now yes, Manchester Untied played tonight as well, but they didn’t have two days before tonight. So we’ve had a real smelly couple of days with the way the fixtures have gone.
Would a couple more wins between now and the World Cup make it a good start to the season?
I don’t like saying this, but we’ve won 11 out of 16 games, and we’ve drawn two and lost three. Not bad.
Will you use a young side against FCSB?
Ideally I would try something similar [to last year], but I’ve got a really young group and if I think there’s any of the boys ready to play. I’m watching Sporting Lisbon, a lot of teams play 18, 19 year olds. So let’s see if they can stand up to it and show what they can do. There might be an opportunity for a few of them next week to get a game.
