On the extra training afforded by the international break ...
I love to have a Saturday to Saturday week where we can prepare well and train well. It has been a privilege to get some good work into the players and some of the players who are coming back. We have tried to utilise the time well.
On the latest injury news ...
The very good news is that Pontus Jansson is fit, available for selection, and will start tomorrow. Shandon Baptiste and Mads Roerslev are still slightly longer but they are on track in terms of time. Christian Norgaard is getting closer; he is still a tiny bit away but we hope he will join the team soon. It will probably be some weeks but he is still on schedule.
On having Pontus back ...
It’s the true leaders you see in the tough moments. It is easy being 3-0 up with ten minutes to go but when you keep a cool head in the crucial moments and take good decisions that is where Pontus is going to be crucial for us. We are looking forward to welcoming him back into the team.
On the re-introduction of five substitutes per game ...
I am really pleased with it and I hope we, and every club, can benefit from it in terms of taking care of the players’ health. I told the players that we are fit, and we are strong; all of them can play 90 minutes in the next 13 games, I have no doubt about that. However, how can I use the squad as best as possible. I am not going to have a rotation principle, or the same XI start 90 minutes
On Gareth Ainsworth's Wycombe Wanderers ...
It has been a steep learning curve for Wycombe Wanderers and I think they have learned a lot. You can see that with their performances, especially against Watford where they deserved to win. Two fair wins against Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham City show that they are giving everything. Their strengths are playing relatively direct, competing on second balls, and putting crosses into the box. Every set-piece situation they can take, they will. On the ball we need to find good solutions, and find a way to open them.
On the season so far ...
If you look at the expected goals against we are still very low, like last year, but the actual goals we need to cut down by stopping more crosses and defending better in the box. We are among the top scorers in the division but I still want us to control the game more in the final third and get more good crosses into the box. I also want more from set pieces in these situations.
This weekend we’ll be donating all the iFollow income from the Wycombe game to help pay for Jamie Powell’s vital treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
Buy your match pass > Read Jamie's story >