Just your overriding emotions after the game?
Pride. I think as always, when you see the hearts that we show and I think eagerness to capitalise on the opportunity that's at hand when we get back to Elland Road.
In the first half what happened to your back five, it was almost like they hadn't played together there was that many mistakes, a lot of sloppy play?
Well, we wanted to be more vertical. We wanted to play braver and often find our wingbacks in good positions to the attack because we thought they'd be compact. We didn't do well enough with that and we invited them. I think a big turning point in the match is when Pascal plays unnecessarily back to Joel and that goes out for a corner kick and now they have a chance to feel like they can come into the match and their crowd can get into the match.
Once they feel like they have a chance, then the game starts to change. They get two goals, credit to them, credit to them for pushing, but, obviously we're still struggling to handle these moments appropriately.
Read more: Sonny Perkins announces himself to save Leeds United as Max Wober makes impression
Wober and Rodrigo, how impressed were you with their contribution?
Throw Cody in there, too. I think they inserted themselves in the match in exactly the way I hoped that they would. I thought Cody played brave and tried to be an attacker. Max, you can see is a man on the pitch. For a young player, he's very mature, he's a leader, he's not normally a six but I know that I can use them like that and we put them in the match and he absolutely helped calm things down and helped make the right decisions to bring us back into the game. And then yeah, I think also Rodri we know is a big player for us.
Perkins and Joseph got involved and Sonny got the goal, but it was a tough day for Joe Gelhardt. Is it time to look for a loan for him?
I don't want to discuss that, we really like Joffy. When they're so compact, it's not the easiest for him to find the game. The whole first half, it's hard to pinpoint one thing, it was just not in sync, not aggressive enough, not a full understanding of exactly what this tournament and this game was going to require. That's why I think the subs came in and helped make a difference.
How much of an incentive is it now that you’ve got the rematch at Elland Road and fairly beatable opposition in the fourth round?
Well, I heard outside that they haven't commentated a FA Cup game at Elland Road and it's been a number of years. Listen, I have to also thank our fans today because I think without them being behind the goal where we were pushing and having so many of them and having their energy to stay in the match, I don't think we get ourselves back in so I think the fans deserve a lot of credit and we'll need that again back at Elland Road and obviously we know there's an opportunity with the draw and everything that is laid out in front of us. But if we learned one thing, it's that if you don't show up and you're not ready to play from the beginning, you cause yourself problems.
What will it take for you to control games and take control of games so you're not relying on late chaos?
Better tactical understanding and savviness and awareness for exactly what matches require.
What's the situation with the fitness of players who didn’t play and didn’t make the starting line up?
Do you want me to go man by man? I can. So Coops and Robin both have a little bit of a glute strain, but they should be back in training by midweek. Tyler, we had planned ahead of time because he had a little bit of an Achilles issue after the World Cup, but he's feeling much better and he'll be back in training as well. This week, Illan had a muscle issue with his kicking leg after being out for so long with mono or the glandular fever that it stretched him a little bit so he wouldn't have been able to play either today. So all four of those really weren't able to play.
Adam Forshaw should be back in training by midweek. I think Patrick trained yesterday and the day before, so we're going to have a good training session for him tomorrow. So he'll be back in the mix this week. So we're just waiting on Luis to get into training which hopefully by the end of the week will have happened. And then Stuart and Archie but other than that, I think most guys will be back in training.
Pascal with the armband today, which is quite interesting, ahead of more senior players, can you talk us through that?
Yeah, well, I said to him that I'm wanting him to push himself in terms of his voice, his presence, his leadership and the team and that I wanted him to carry the captain's band today and the responsibility of a player that we think has a big future at the club. He was great I thought before the match. In the match I thought he did OK. We're continuing to try to push him to be the player that we can be but that was the emphasis.
What was Max saying to you before he came on, what sort of feedback was he giving you about how ready he felt?
I asked him at halftime did he think he could go 45 and he said ‘yes’. I decided to wait a little bit just to give the group a chance to see if they could respond with that XI. I thought the beginning this half second half was okay but I made the subs early because I thought we needed more. The discussion with Max the whole time was do I use him as a centre back, do I use them as a left back, do I use them as a six? In the end I think that decision to put them in the midfield was the right one.
Jesse, did you get stuck into the players?
No, I stayed calm. I stayed calm. Last time, last game, I was a little bit upset at half-time. This time I tried to stay calm and say that we weren't sticking to the things that we felt we needed to command the game the way we want and I wanted to see if they could do that in the second half.
I wanted to ask about Gnonto as well, you’ve spoken about his quality but I wonder what you make of the challenges he’s having to soak up because there seems to be two or three every game that could do damage?
Yeah, I think he's difficult to deal with, he’s quick on his last step, his first step, his last step, every step. So to defend him isn't easy, Cree as well, by the way. I think Cree has been taking some knocks as well. So those guys are crafty and quick and they can cause issues for the opponent.
You mentioned Sonny Perkins, coming in to be the hero, but what did you say to him afterwards and did you think the game had gone?
Well, so first of all, with Sonny, we were really excited to have the opportunity to bring into the club in summer. We've tried to include him a lot with the first team and push his development and since we got back from the World Cup, I was adamant with him about playing with the intensity that he needs to play and adapting more and more to the way we want to play football and if he could do that, he would find more opportunities. He's done that really well. I think he's developed incredibly well over the last two-three weeks. Frankly, when we put him in the match on the bench we were saying he's one of the guys that can get a goal. And so that part was great.
As first tastes of the FA Cup go, that was quite the ride?
Yeah, as a manager I've never lost to a lower division team in the cup. And part of it is because I demand that the players take it seriously and that we play with intensity as if it's a first division match. We didn't do that in the first half and we put ourselves at jeopardy and so we have to learn now with a young group what cup matches are and how to handle it. Part of the challenge is also trying to teach our team to be bigger winners and understand how to handle things and how to manage moments and what real games are about. So I think we can use this as a stepping stone for us to move forward. But again, we always show heart, we always show belief when we need to.
READ NEXT:
Robbie Savage tips 'vulnerable' Leeds United and Jesse Marsch for Premier League relegation
Who is Georginio Rutter? The Hoffenheim striker linked with £30m move to Leeds United
Leeds United 'open talks' claim as Georginio Rutter linked with £30m transfer
Max Wober 'expressed wish' to join Leeds United as RB Salzburg search for replacement
Michael Skubala outlines Leeds United U21s frustration and discusses his first-team role
