How do you reflect on that performance?
Disappointing. Maybe Thursday-Sunday caught up with us a little bit today. We lacked the intensity we’ve got in our general performances. We didn’t make hardly any chances. It was a really low level game in the first half, both teams offered nothing at all and we gave them a leg up two minutes into the second half with a really poor goal. We gave them a leg up two minutes into it with, from our point of view, a really poor goal that they can take a throw-in, flick it on and someone can score. It was really, really shoddy from our point of view. But, aye, so there we go.
Is Kurt ok?
Kurt has twisted his ankle. We don’t know how bad it is. We’ll get him checked but I’ve not gotten a chance to speak to the medical team yet. Coming off is not a good sign but hopefully it’s not too bad.
Dawson?
We thought he broke his nose on Thursday and in the first minute he got caught on his nose. He was in real pain throughout the game with it. He battles on Daws, great credit to him.
Antonio drought now 12 league games. What can you do to help him?
We need to keep trusting in him, which we have done, keep giving every encouragement that goals will come. There were signs a few weeks ago his form was coming back but he hadn’t quite got the goals. It’s a long time. We need him to score. Let’s be fair, it’s not our goalscoring at the minute. Our goalscoring has been good whether they’ve come from Jarrod or whoever. We’ve been able to cover Mic’s lack of goals recently. But when you get into where it really matters, the bits of quality in a season, you need your centre forwards to come up trumps with goals for you.
Lack of end product cost you?
No, it contributed to it but bigger thing was giving away two ridiculously bad goals. Brentford got their part, they executed their counterattack pretty well but we could have probably done better to avoid a couple of bits of that. But we shouldn’t have got caught in the first place. Today just felt like a game more than we’d have liked. The goal we gave away after two minutes was a killer. After 45 minutes I felt better, I thought we had 45 minutes to go and that might help in the second half but to give a goal away after two minutes was a killer.
Trust players to bounce back in time?
Great trust in the players. It’s not bouncing back energy wise, to recover from a Sunday to a Thursday is much easier than a Thursday to a Sunday. It gives us more recovery time. Very difficult to prepare. We’ve had a great record this year of results on Thursday and Sunday games but history will show you it’s a really tough competition to be in and win your games on a Sunday.
Europa League the best route to Champions League?
We finished sixth last year and it was monumental. If we can finish anywhere like that. Talking about fourth is great but in truth we’re West Ham and what we’ve done without the same quality as some of the other teams is remarkable. The players are doing an incredible job. If we can make European football again it would be a great achievement but we missed an opportunity today to challenge again.
If Kurt doesn’t make it Thursday, Cresswell out suspended – that’s a problem in defence?
You lack natural balance. People tend to forget we lost Angelo Ogbonna right at the start who was a natural balance at centre back and really important to us so all season we’ve had to work and play with that. Aaron Cresswell is out so you’re right. It gives us an imbalance of people more comfortable on the left side.
Is Mark Noble OK?
He felt a wee bit under the weather today so we didn’t take any chances.
Why a delay to Dawson getting proper treatment?
The blood was a reason why. He broke or displaced it in midweek. The first cross of the game he caught it. It was bleeding at different times in the game.
