Jesse, can you start with injury news?
Archie Gray had an incident at home where he stubbed his toe and he fractured a little bit of his big toe. He’s been out of training for two weeks and he’ll be out probably for another two weeks.
Stuart is making a really good recovery. He went down to see a specialist and they feel like he is doing really well and he’s on track. Obviously it will still be some time for him.
Adam Forshaw twisted his ankle this week. It’s not so bad but he won’t be available this weekend. Other than that every single player is available for us so we’re feeling like we’re getting to full strength.
I’ll discuss it before you guys even have the opportunity to ask questions about the suspension. I don't agree with the decision that it was not a penalty on Summerville and even after they've had an independent panel look at it and say that they don't think it's a penalty, I disagree with that.
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I disagree with the red card that they gave me and I disagree with the suspension, however, I respect and accept the punishment, the ban and the touchline ban. I haven't appealed it because I didn't feel that I wanted to do that, I wanted to respect their decision. And for me it's not the first time, obviously as a player I received a couple of red cards, as a coach I've had to miss a game or two in my career.
When I was in Leipzig, actually the last three matches I coached from the kitchen with COVID, so this is hardly as bad as that. I’m just banned from the touchline, I can be with them before the match and at half-time in the dressing room. I’ll watch the game from the gantry and I’ll have communication with the staff but I believe that the team will be fully prepared and ready and I know that the staff will also do a really good job in my absence on the touchline.
Jesse, how valuable has the break been in terms of reset, regroup, getting players fitness levels back up and the chance to go down on Sunday for the visit of Aston Villa?
Yeah, I mean obviously it hasn't been ideal, but I thought given the gravity of the situation with the Queen and her funeral, I think it was absolutely the right decision for the league. I was awestruck by the funeral, by the unity in the country, by the show of nationalism. I think it was a special time to be here to honour the Queen and everything that over her 70-year reign that she had achieved and the passing of the torch to King Charles. So I understand it and I appreciate it.
We've gotten a little bit healthier, we've been able to talk a little bit more. We were able to work on a little bit more man-down tactics. We were able to work through a little bit more with set pieces with some of the things that we want to achieve in all the phases of the match and I think really pushed the level of fitness and training every day. So I'm hopeful.
I've always tried whether it was in the lockdown or in pre-season moments when you have these little breaks to really try to maximise what you're doing with the team. And I'm hopeful that we're healthy, we're strong we're fit and that we're really ready to push until the World Cup.
You won't be in the dugout on Sunday. How will that be for you on a personal level, keeping those emotions in check and you must be confident that the right communication will be getting across to the players?
I actually like the vantage point of being up high, I think it allows you to see the match better. I've often considered actually managing or coaching from that position, and then coming in at halftime and things like that.
A big part of my leadership is about ownership and that's first for the staff that, the staff comes every day with ideas and that they know they're appreciated and valued so that they give everything they have to the common good and that when I make decisions, we're all aligned because they've had their opportunity to affect everything we do.
That's the same way I treat the players. I want them to feel engaged. I want to them to feel valued, I want their opinions to be heard and I have the types of relationships with them where I challenge them to be good leaders, to be good people and to give everything they have to the common good. And I think that in moments like this, it will reward us and it's a test.
It's a test to see how good we can be, how much we can be unified, how clear we are with everything on a day where I'm not right on top of everything.
Patrick Bamford started on the bench against Brentford and a big boost of him during the international break. He scored a hat-trick for the under-21s. What's your gut feeling now about how close he is to full match sharpness and he's a big player for you with crunch games coming up?
With Patrick it’s always been about trying to manage him so that we're pushing him fitness-wise and that he's sharp and playing at a high level and then also with being careful to not push him too hard and risk him getting other little injuries and little niggling injuries.
I think we've managed it well, but it's a little bit of a balancing act with him. He's massively important for us. In every moment he's been on the pitch from pre-season until now he scored goals, he's been dangerous, he gets chances. So obviously in the Premier League goals are at a premium and I think we will we will need him and we will need him to be at his best.
Wilfried Gnonto played for Italy twice, have you revised your opinion on that is Premier League ready?
I can say that he has pleasantly surprised all of us in almost every way. First of all there was this video of him and I meeting in my office that went out and almost went viral, which was funny to me because it was a normal interaction of meeting a player.
I think you can see even in that video his humbleness and is his maturity and then on the pitch and training. He's been fantastic. I thought he was very good and the U21s match against Southampton.
He will be in the squad this weekend and we think he can play a big role for us now. I guess you can say I would revise my statement. That statement had more to do, I think with the fact that we had targeted him and we identified him, but more for future windows and not exactly this one, but the fact that we're able to start the process early I think is really advantageous for everyone.
A lot of players were away on international duty, not just senior players, how much action did you get to see of them for their various countries?
Yeah, I watched almost all of them and when not then I have the staff clip just almost highlights of a 10-minute highlight of all their actions in the match. If you take Rasmus Kristensen, he was fantastic against France where they got a 2-0 win and I thought he was one of the best players on the pitch and he shut down in Mbappe in many moments.
Then you could go to Illan and I thought it when he played against Germany he was fantastic with the ball. He made a lot of good decisions, he looked very sharp. Obviously I watched the US team when they play. They didn't have their best international window but I still thought that Tyler and Brenden both played well. Following all these guys, whether it's 21s, whether it's been Sonny Perkins with the 19s and how well he's performing now, it's important for me. I try not to coach them in those moments, I just tried to add that in terms of evaluating the entire package of where they are, how they're moving forward, and how I think they can help the team in the moment.
So I enjoy watching them play with the national team, and I'm always rooting for them. And by the way, the other one to talk about is Luis Sinisterra. How amazing and what in a moment in his career for him to score three goals in 90 minutes against Mexico to come on in second half and really spark their comeback. And you could see the way the team appreciated and acknowledged what he did on the day.
So I think that Luis continues to show how good a player he is.
You mentioned Luke Ayling had a good 20 minutes at Brentford and on the left side there’s Junior Firpo, how difficult is that for you in terms to making a decision?
So now in the back line, we have Coops, we have Luke and we have Junior. All back. And those guys featured when healthy almost every time for me last year when we played and I think all three are going to be a big boost to our team and add more depth.
Speaking about Rasmus and Luke, I think that I can't make a wrong decision there. They're both playing at a high level. Luke performed really well, he had to wear a mask sometimes because he broke his nose against in the Brentford match.
That will be a tough decision to make, but I know both will be ready. Junior, I think he's gotten more and more fit and healthy and ready to contribute. So I think that's a big boost and I think Coops is as close to 100% as I've seen him and really ready to go. So we certainly have a lot of options there.
Up front. we've got Rodri, we've got Patrick, we've got Joffy in the 10 position, we've got lots of options, what a great situation for us to have and now we need to use it where when we come off the bench that we get stronger every match and that will be the challenge whether guys are in the starting XI or whether they're coming off the bench that everybody's ready to put in top performances and helping us pick up as many points as possible.
How have you managed Diego Llorente after his last performance?
Diego and I spoke and we looked at a few things. He knew it wasn't his best performance, but he also knows that he's incredibly important and he's had a lot of really good matches up until this point in the season. I spoke to him and I said listen, ‘we have to find a way to get Coops and Luke going and everyone because they're big leaders in our team and really important and Diego is going to continue to be really important.
So again, that will be another decision that won't be easy to make, but I think no matter who I choose there'll be ready to go.
Victor Orta, how important is he to you and this group given he has had reported interest from elsewhere?
Yeah, Chelsea, listen, I am not surprised that he's been linked to some to some big jobs. I can unequivocally say that he is very happy here and we have an incredible relationship.
Along with Angus and Andrea, I think we've worked really well as a team. I think we worked incredibly well in the transfer window. I think the way we operate on almost every level in the transfer window has set us up for success in our season. And I'm hopeful that he stays obviously because of the relationship I have with him and the expertise and hard work that he puts in to building this club. It's the same for everybody in this business, things come up, people have opportunities, we have contractual obligations and people have to think about what's best in their in their lives, in their personal lives, professional lives, what their contract says and means and then what the opportunities are and then and then everyone has to find ways to move forward in the best interest for themselves.
However, I can say that the togetherness here, the commitment here from everyone involved is at the highest level I've ever seen. So much so, for me, I don't want to leave. If I got an offer to go anywhere in the world right now to coach football I wouldn't leave this spot.
I'm more happy in my career than I've ever been and I'm very thankful to be here and my total focus and our total focus is just trying to maximise what we're achieving every day.
Just to follow up on that, that's a huge statement to make that you are the happiest that you've been in your career and you've coached in some big places, big countries. Why are you so happy here? What is it about this league and this club?
Yeah, I mean, the league obviously speaks for itself, but I said this before, my motivation to coming to Leeds had nothing to do with the Prem. Obviously it's the biggest league in the world, maybe in any sport, but it had so much more to do with what I thought the connections and the energies and the symmetries were with how we think and work and it's proved to be even better than I'd hoped. Right and even in a relegation moment last year, the unity and belief and commitment from every single person to try to be together and to achieve all of our goals was the highest I've ever seen.
I'm a very open manager, I'm a very interactive and communicative manager and in the end, honestly, the thing that matters the most to me is that we are a real group that cares about each other that looks out for each other, that gives everything to each other. I believe that's the way to formulate success.
Obviously, we have to have football details and we have to work hard every day to iron out the plan and improve what the things we do. But in the end, the thing I care the most about is that we are a real team, a real unit that we're willing to do whatever it takes for each other.
Aston Villa, went through a tricky spell came out of it just before the break. What are you expecting from them?
We played them last year. We played them in pre-season. We didn't have our best matches in either moments. I think that they have quality on the pitch, they're very organised, especially with the way they defend and I think that's the thing that's gotten them out of their tough spell at the beginning of the season, they've been defending really well and very organised specifically against the ball.
They can be a threat on set pieces and in transition moments so it'll be a tight match. I'm sure of that, it will be an intensive match and we will have to be very intelligent, specifically when we're in possession on how we balance out protecting the opponent from getting into transition moments.
I think at Elland road the one thing we will want to do is really go after the game to be aggressive to use our crowd to play with intensity, to play with speed, to play with power and to play with intelligence. That will certainly be a big part of what we try to achieve on the day.
You’re unbeaten at Elland Road, how important is it to make your home ground a fortress?
It is one of our big goals. I said to all of you last year when we played against Aston Villa that I learned a lot about what it meant to play in front of our fans at Elland Road and we've tried to adjust that and we've had a pretty solid record when playing at home.
Part of it is playing with aggression part of it is using our fans and the energy and the power of what the entire mood and energy in the stadium is. So yeah, that's really important to us and if we can be a really strong team at home it also allows us to play a little bit freer when we're in away matches because we can collect more points at home and then we can really be aggressive to know that we can still go after games on the road.
Just finally for me this period is a very busy period lots of fixtures before the break for the World Cup. How difficult is it to keep everyone in the squad happy because they're not going to play every game?
It's not so important that everyone is totally happy because I know players when they don't play they want to always be on the pitch and we want that. However, what we want everyone to know is the responsibility of being committed to the group is what can make us special and different.
We have to have a very high standard for that and we do here, very lucky with the young men that we have in this squad and in this building and certainly ready to perform when called upon.
When the matches come quickly you can have injuries, you need rotation at times, you need players off the bench to have big performances. Where we are and who we are right now, we can't take anything for granted. That's for sure.
How do you keep on top of player development for younger players that are probably a bit too good for the 21s but not quite starting yet for the first team?
Yeah, that's a good question. I think the gap right now between the 21s in the first team is a little bit too big. In our academy and in our development system we have I think a general direction for the entire academy and then we have general direction for high talents. Part of the high talents is challenging them at the levels that they need to be challenged in their development path and for us guys like Darko, Archie, Sonny, Mateo, we tried to include them in first team training almost every day because I think that them being around that level is very, very important for their development and their confidence.
The beauty of having those guys around is I don't think anyone in our squad treats them as young players or developing players. I think they see how good they are and how much they fit in. Eventually, I would like to give those players bigger and bigger opportunities in the Prem, in cup matches, and we'll see how everything pans out but certainly the one that comes to mind is when you see Sonny Perkins right now scoring every game, at least one goal and developing within the idea of how we want to play football, you start to feel like he deserves big chances and big moments and he needs them. Let's see, let's see what happens here in the next weeks and months but I'm certainly, with all four of those guys, really pleased.
Where do you see the major growth between the friendly against Villa in the summer and now?
I think as pre-season went on our concept of how we wanted to play got better and better. Villa was the first real opponent that we played in pre-season that was at our level. We used that to continue to push ourselves and I think now the team has gotten clearer and clearer as to what the tactics are and behaviours and exactly how we want to play.
That being said, it's going to be a very good match and a very difficult one. And again, I think we know already from not having success against Aston Villa that we have to be at our best.
Jack Harrison missed out on the England squad. How disappointed was he? How have you managed that and morale is very important to you and England is important to him?
We spoke about it and what I said to him is that he should feel good about the fact that he's given himself every chance possible by how he's played and that the squad for the World Cup still has not been chosen, that the squad is 26 not 23 so there may be room still for him to continue to play the way he's playing and find a spot. He's still young enough that even if it doesn't come around this time, he still has a big future no matter what.
So Jack is the type of guy that comes every day whether he's disappointed, whether he's proud in a moment and gives absolutely everything he has to himself, to the team, to everything he does and he's a pleasure to work with.
So I would urge Gareth, I think he knows Jack already, but if he needs a guy in the squad that he could count on at any moment to do whatever it takes and would also support the entire team to do well in every moment regardless of whether he's playing or not, Jack is that guy, Jack is that guy. It's a pleasure to have him here and I think he's a great player.
You talked about Luis briefly, he seems to be going to another level with every game he plays and like Sonny he seems to be scoring in every single game. How good can he be and how excited are you to finally see him play 90 minutes week in, week out?
First of all, he's a big talent. We knew that I said that before when he was injured a little bit at the end of pre-season before we got him going that we believed in him. So much. He's an incredible person, humble, works hard, gets everything. He's intelligent. He adapts really well to environments and the biggest thing we've tried to do is push his fitness.
The demand we have for the way we want to play is different than I think anything he's experienced in his career. So he's adapted well to the level and now it's more about pushing his physical fitness level so that he can play the way we want at for 90 minutes and I think he can get there and I believe we can help them get there. It was a big travel to come from San Francisco to here, he will play this weekend, no doubt. He's in fantastic form and I have no doubt that he's going to continue to be a great player.
For the non-international players to go four weeks without a game and then have five weeks of real intensity before the World Cup. How do you manage them in terms of pushing them hard enough not pushing them too hard and how much has it helped you that you've had the experience of managing in lockdown and I presume you had a winter break in Austria?
My whole approach is just about maximising moments and being creative in that and innovative in that but also demanding from everyone that we don't stop, that we're relentless in our mentality to improve and so I think we've used this time well.
We've done more 11 v 11 than we normally have, because of the fact that we haven't had the games on the weekends, we've done more intra-squad 11 v 11 than normal.
I believe that we're strong, we're fit. The lads have put a lot of work into the gym, which is one of the reasons why they're fit and strong. And even when we've done body mass indexes and these kinds of things, they're at levels that they've never been at. So, right now, we feel good about their fitness levels, their concentration levels, their desire, their understanding of the way we want to play. We've moved the needle and now we have some big tests, and we've got to show that we're ready for those.
The situation might feel a bit like a pre-season for them, but you had a very good pre-season and you've got your signings in early for them, so has it been much like that or has it been working on fitness?
When we left Brentford Junior wasn't healthy, Rasmus wasn’t healthy, Liam wasn't healthy, Luke wasn't healthy, Patrick was coming back and starting to be healthy, Rodri wasn’t healthy. So now when you look at it, we've gotten all of those players healthy and I think most of them close to 90 minutes fit.
So that's a good feeling but it doesn't ensure anything. That's why I keep trying to say in this league, you take nothing for granted. I feel good about where we're at, but I know we've got big challenges ahead.
You mentioned Rodrigo there with his shoulder. Was it a judgement call not to send him for an operation or is he just fine because we tend to get degrees for these things?
I think based on the type of injury and the severity of the injury, everyone figured, including the shoulder experts, that they call it a conservative treatment, which means no surgery. Typically what they say is it's a four-week recovery and after that four weeks, the percentage of injury is the same four weeks, six weeks, two years.
So we believe that first of all, Rodri is a strong man, his upper body very strong and that can be helpful for him. He's done a lot of the right rehab. We've been patient with him and we've been allowed to be patient because of the situation.
We feel like he's fit, he's strong and he's ready to go. He's trained really well this week. He's 100% as close to being fit as I think I've seen him and I think he can be in this situation. We don't have a lot of concerns on that level.
Have you decided how you’re going to manage the World Cup break?
Yeah. We will take two weeks and then we will get back to work. There's a little bit of how the match against Wolves goes and then are we in the Carabao Cup still, so that'll have a little bit of a factor of the timing of some things.
But we feel like two weeks is a good time for everyone to get away and then we'll get back to work.
Just to go back to the Victor situation, was it something you just read or is it a subject that you've spoken to him about?
Yeah, we Angus, Victor and I had a dinner planned, which we do once every six weeks. We went to Iberica, which I thought was a perfect place for Victor to tell us that he was leaving, that it was like his final dinner. Fortunately, that was not the case, but we talked very openly about it.
It was a little bit of a funny conversation because one of the things between Victor and I was I basically made him promise that he was going to stay with me if I came here before I came, but if you get an opportunity to go to the place like Chelsea obviously with your family situation, I understand you have to consider it and in the end he has to make a decision for what's best for his him and his family.
I know how much he loves Leeds United. I know how much he loves working with me and with Angus and what we do here with Andrea and everything. I'm hopeful that he will stay. That's what I'm hopeful for.
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