Jesse, lots to talk about, can we start with the calamitous defending, is that ultimately what’s cost you this game?
Yeah, I think, first of all, some set piece situations in the first half that we talked about we tried to train but regardless we know that this is one of their strengths here. I thought before was 1-0 that the game was actually in pretty much in control and then I don't think it's a penalty, the first goal.
What's a shame is we really pushed to get ourselves back in the game at 3-2 and that's when you really felt like the game fell apart a little bit. We have to get better defensively. The tough part is now we gave up five in one game and we've given up five and five and we've actually been fairly stable but this game was a little wild. We weren't able to do well enough.
Some of the defending was inexcusable, Jesse. Diego Llorente has had a shocker today and Robin Koch made a few bad decisions as well, what do you say and do with them now?
We’re never going to point fingers and if anyone wants to point fingers then it should be at the manager, I have to put the players in position to succeed. We've been doing a really good job. I think we've had a lot of decent games and some really good performances and picked up some points early in the year. We know that we're going to have a lot more to do that teams are also understanding what we're trying to achieve and we're going to have to be able to adjust in matches.
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Sometimes we put our centre backs in difficult situations because when we like to counter press and be very aggressive with certain things forward that we need to put up some fires but we're tactically sound, I think we've done a good job of that. Again, before even 1-0 I thought we were we were finding a match and then even at the beginning of the second half, we create some big chances and maybe we could make it 2-2 and then obviously the game gets crazy.
Was it a tough call to take Jack Harrison off at half-time?
No, I felt Jack was a little bit tired. We put a lot into these guys over the three-game week. We were thinking about making more subs at half-time but we just decided on that one but Jack's been fantastic. I just didn't feel like he had his legs in his power like he normally has so then we decided to try to put someone else on that could push the game a little bit.
What happened with yourself and getting the red card?
Yeah, I mean, I was calm even when Brentford was given the penalty, even though I didn't see it right away. Normally when the phrasing and verbiage is ‘clear and obvious’, and it takes that long to watch it and look at it and it's not so clear then normally for me it's not clear and obvious and then when I see it after the halftime I don't believe it's a penalty and if it is it's an incredibly soft one.
I was told by the referee committee and by the league in our managers’ meeting before the season started that the threshold for penalties was going to go up. So that was not for me represented by that decision.
Then in an action where I think Crysencio Summerville is actually more of an egregious foul and it doesn't even get looked at for VAR. Yeah, clearly dissatisfied. So I got to figure out how to have discussions with the league or with referees or something to help understand, you know how some decisions get made.
Can you talk us through deadline day?
I think I told you guys that we kind of had A, B and C options in a lot of different ways and we were kind of sorting through how to get things done and trying to evaluate how to make moves. It was a very crazy last 48 hours, we had a plan and certain things got pulled out from under us based on decisions from players and agents and clubs that we didn't anticipate that we thought we were on the same page with certain things and it turned out we weren't.
In the end, we had been following Willy Gnonto’s progress for some time and we were thinking that we leave them in Zurich with the idea that maybe we bring them in a transfer window or maybe two just give them time to continue to develop where he was at. But then we felt we needed to accelerate that decision based on what the window was panning out to be.
I've heard that there's been some criticism, but I think actually, we're very happy with our transfer window and I think we've made some really good additions and we're going to continue to get stronger as we go.
You got Luke Ayling and Bamford back on the pitch today, although today is a setback, do you feel you’re still getting stronger?
I said last week that I liked our team, and that doesn't change. In fact, we're, we're getting healthier, like you said, and we're going to get some key guys back. I think it will bolster what we're accomplishing with our team.
Even when we beat Chelsea there, there was a lot of fanfare around how we were doing things but in internally, we knew we still had a lot to do and I certainly knew we had a lot to still deal with and this league is very difficult. So we will continue in that way but again, I like our group a lot.
Rasmus missed out today but Cody came in, I imagine at short notice. How do you think Cody did?
Rasmus picked up the injury right at the end of training so Cody didn't have much time to prepare. I thought for the most part, Cody did okay. It's another opportunity with him being on the pitch that will work with him on certain tactical details on what his role is, but overall I thought I thought it was okay.
Sinisterra scoring again and proving to be a quality outlet for you in the final third, is it a case of getting him to 90 minutes now?
At half-time I could see was tired after a full week but we wanted to keep him on the pitch to see if we could make one or two more plays. Even at 2-1, we were pushing the game but I was trying to think how soon to get fresh legs on the pitch and then it goes to 3-1 on a very strange play again. So yeah, it was a weird day in a lot of different ways, but we need to learn from these situations, myself included, and we need to continue to move forward in a positive way in a way that we're, we're all together.
You talk a lot about challenging referees. Is that a danger through doing that that they start to deal with you?
I’m witnessing that straightaway, that's why I need to have some more conversations. I don't know how the avenues work of who to talk to and what to say. I know that our club has reached out a couple times, but maybe it's time for me to have some discussions and try to figure out why some of these things are happening and how to have dialogue.
I've tried to publicly be positive about things but on match day I've been a bit frustrated, specifically the last three matches. My strategy is I was speaking with the fourth official trying to be as respectful as I possibly could, even when a penalty was given that I probably didn't think was a penalty. But and when you don't see it reciprocated, the respect, that's what I would call it, just that that that lack of VAR visit, in the end for me is a lack of respect.
Could you run us through the Dan James transfer and why Dan is gone and where you saw him in your plans?
Yeah, it was clear that if we needed to add something that we needed to move something. I hate speaking about it that way because I love Dan James, he's an incredible person and he gives everything to the group always.
When we were trying to think about how to get the balance right in the team, this was the key was garnering the most interest and it was the only way that we could create flexibility to try and go out and add a striker position that we felt we needed. So I wish that we wouldn't have had to do it and even the way that it went down because it was kind of tough for Dan.
We discussed it weeks before the transfer deadline about the possibility and then we had a lot of open conversations with Dan and it was tough at the end because I know he likes it here and his family likes it here.
I wish him luck and I really liked him and I hope he has a good season and a good World Cup and hopefully then we'll see him again next time.
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