The first half was good, but the second half so bad. What happened?
Absolutely. This is the Premier League. You have to be ready for the whole game. I thought the first half we played a very good match, had a few opportunities to score a couple more. But of course in the second half the intensity dropped and we were punished. It’s the Premier League, we have to expect that. Very, very, very disappointed with the second half performance.
That’s 62 goals conceded, whereas last season was so good defensively. What’s happened?
Not too sure. Obviously we’re conceding a lot of goals for different reasons. But I thought today we showed a lot of courage in the first half. We were brave, played good match with the ball but in the second half the intensity dropped. Understandable to a certain extent because we’ve been working a different way for such a long time. We just needed to take our opportunities when they came our way.
They really took their opportunities in the second half – three or four shots on target and three goals so difficult to take.
Kane was waving to the fans, was he saying goodbye, will that be the last time we’ll see him here?
No, he waves at the crowd every season. I remember sitting here two years ago, and you guys were convinced he was leaving, saying the same thing. Its the last home game of the season so he wants to show his appreciation to the support he’s received, and we’ve all received this season.
Why did the intensity drop?
Maybe a combination of different things. We were probably asking them to do something they haven’t done for a while, in terms of playing a higher line and being a little bit more front foot. To do that for 90, 95 minutes, you probably need to train it for a consistent amount of time, which we haven’t had. I thought there were lots of positives in the first half, I certainly took a lot of positives. I know we will see the result, absolutely, because that is ultimately what it’s all about. But first half, the courage, the intensity, the bravery that we played with, and without the ball, I thought it was a very positive first half. But like I say again, it’s just one half of football, you have to do it for the whole game.
Dejan Kulusevski said he prefers playing as a number 10, could that be his position long-term?
I’m not sure. I think he can operate centrally or on the right side very well. We wanted to bring some pace in with Danjuma today and push up high and wide and get in behind as much as possible and we got into the pocket so many times with Harry and Deki in that first half and created quite a few openings.
They made some crucial blocks and in the second half their keeper made some good saves. Deki is a player that we like. We want to add more goals to his game absolutely but he’s a young player and I think he will be important for this club going forward.
Of course (it hurts). It is understandable because of how probably the second two-thirds of the season have gone on and off the pitch but ultimately we know the fans will be there next season. This club will keep moving forward and now is the time where we need to be stronger than ever and believe in what we’re going to do, commit to it and have people that are committed to it. And I always say in football things can change very quickly and the energy can change quickly.
What can change?
These are conversations and there are many different conversations that need to happen, but ultimately, I have said it quite a bit, we need to commit to something and be consistent with it. Then have people, staff and players here who are committed to it too and I think that transfers to everyone else. That is what we need.
