What's the latest team news?
No new injuries and good news because Ryan Sessegnon and Sergio Reguilon had a training session today with us. Good news. About Olly Skipp, we have to wait. He's not ready. He's still not ready and we need to have patience with him to try to solve his problem.
But for the Aston Villa game, good news because Sergio had the training session and it was the same for Ryan Sessegnon. It was the first time for Ryan Sessegnon for a long time and for him we have to pay more attention than Sergio, but at the same time it was good to have him with us in the training session.
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What have you made of the Champions League reforms?
Honestly this is a topic that you have to ask the owner or the club about. We have to participate in the Champions League because you deserve to play this fantastic tournament.
For this reason we have to try to be in the race to play in the Champions League this season. Then, in the future, if they decide to improve from 24 teams instead of 22, to do this, you have to deserve to play the Champions League. It's the best way to play this tournament.
Are UEFA simply appeasing top clubs?
I repeat: I think my focus is on the pitch, to try to improve my team and reach the best result with my team. For other situations I think are for the club, the owners and the people that are there to take this type of decision.
Is the momentum with you after three Premier League wins?
We have to continue in this way, to play in the way we're playing in this period. After hard work, we improved a lot from the past. Also in the past we won games, but I think that now I'm starting to see the right maturity and solidity of my team. Also the right confidence of my players to try to play the game and get three points.
This league is very difficult but if you compare to the past my team has improved a lot. I feel now more comfortable to face the opponent.
Has having no midweek matches helped?
For sure, to have more time, more days to work with your players is important. Especially because don't forget I came in November this season and didn't have the same time as other managers, the pre-season to build your team with players you wanted to sign in the summer.
And a lot of difficulties. Despite this we work very well and it's important for me to have more time to spend with my team, to improve the tactical and physical aspects, the mentality with analysis to prepare the game.
Honestly to prepare a game every six or seven days instead of every two days changes things totally. Change totally, because you prepare with accuracy. For this reason the team is improving and you can see that in our football now.
Where does Harry Kane rank among the best strikers in world football?
I think he deserves an important position in the world of football. I think Harry also he has the right age to show that he can be one of the best, best in the world but especially in history no?
I think he's already in the history because he scored a lot of goals for the club and scored a lot of goals for the national team. He's the captain.
He has the right age to consolidate and be one of the best in the world. His role, he's a number nine but at the same time he can be a number 10 because of his quality.
He's very good to make assists and to put the ball where he wants. We try also to exploit this aspect and give the ball to him. About our team, I'm trying to improve not his quality but to be more effective, to be in the box and a striker.
I repeat we're talking about a fantastic player, so it's very difficult to improve him but we're trying to work, to push him to have the top ambition to become the best striker.
Do you believe the north London derby could be the fourth place decider?
But every game, if you win you get three points. At the moment, we need to win to get three points because if you do it means your table improves.
You start to pressure on your opponents, the other teams that are in the same position as you, who are in the same race for the fourth place.
In this moment until the end there's Arsenal, United, West Ham and also Wolverhampton, who are in a good position. I think it's important to win derbies, important to win specific games but I think that it's important to win every time, especially in the last part of the season.
There are eight games to play and every game is vital for us. It has to be a final. The next game against Aston Villa we know very well to play away against them is not easy, for the great, the fantastic atmosphere around the stadium, but we want to confirm that we're in good form and we want to try to continue to keep a good result.
Matt Doherty said he's got a connection with you now and maybe you trusted him more after the Leeds game, is that how you see it?
About Matthew, Matthew is the typical player that is showing good improvement. If you remember very well, at the start he didn't play a lot with me because at that moment I think he didn't deserve to play. But then he worked really hard. He's a really good guy. In every training session, you see the desire, the will to improve himself, the tactical and technical aspect. He's got a great mentality. He's strong.
Many times when players don't play a lot, they go down mentally. But he's shown me to be strong, to stay there. He showed me, 'I can do what you want, I am going to improve and when I am ready I want to play'. He showed me not with talking but with his attitude and his behaviour and for this reason he is playing, he is deserving to play and he is playing very well. He has great confidence and I am very happy for him, because this is a big example for the other players. I want to win and I don't care if I play one player or another player, I decide the player when I see that this player gives me great attitude.
Are you tempted at all rest Oliver Skipp for the rest of the season to help him fully recover?
No, no, no, absolutely not, we have to recover him for this season. Full stop. This must be our target, for the medical department, for the player. It's totally different from Tanganga's situation. Japhet had a knee injury and was out for the season, but Skipp, no. It's important for the player to feel this possibility and there is this possibility to recover this season. Also we need him and we trust him He's a really good guy. I'm really sorry for him because he doesn't deserve this type of injury, but I repeat he has to recover this season and I push the medical department to recover him this season because we need him.
Have you been watching Giovani Lo Celso for Villareal and is there any chance he will return here next season?
First of all I'm really happy for his great performance. He needed to play with regularity, with continuity. For this reason he went to Spain in a league he knows very well because he played very well and Tottenham bought him when he played in that league. To go back there and show he's in good form is good for everybody, especially because Tottenham paid a lot of money for him.
I am very happy because he is playing every game, he's showing he's a good player but I never said he's not a good player. I said this league is a very difficult league because it is not enough to have great quality and it's important to play with great intensity and strength. But now he is playing with regularity and I am very happy for him, also Gil, they are playing very well in Spain. Also the club did the right choice, yes.
