How frustrated are you?
Obviously we’re disappointed. It’s a terrible feeling to play so well and then have the game switch and walk away with what feels less than one point. It’s also progress to be so disappointed with only a point and we have to see through the trees and understand the performance was quite good, from an individual perspective and the collective.
We’re looking clear in every phase of the game and in set-pieces we were very stable and we are finding ways to be dangerous. For me it’s always in my mind to be glass half full in a moment like this but the group is making progress. It’s great to see so many individuals playing at a high level.
In your opinion, what happened in that last 20 minutes?
At 2-1 we switched to five at the back to try and cut down their ability to attack us in what we call the half lane and we get beat out of that, Jack got beat in the half lane. Jack’s had two fantastic games to start the season but to tactically make that shift and get beat, that’s painful. That's the point of making tactical shifts in the match.
Read more: Leeds United winners and losers: Rodrigo bags brace amid Patrick Bamford concern
Then there's a little bit of maturity. We're still a young team and that was one of the reasons why I put Adam on at the end just to help have a guy in the pitch with a little bit more experience that can help settle the game down. I think he did a really good job at that.
Of course, there's a couple changes that I'm looking back on and thinking could we make those a little bit earlier and could we manipulate the game in a way with some guys off the bench, but, in the end I think we're making progress
It is four points in two games and one of your attacking players has three goals but does Bamford’s injury expose you in the striker issue?
First of all, Patrick, I think is not bad. He had felt a little tightness in his abductor and so I've challenged him to be honest with us on exactly where he stands with things and he felt like he wasn't 100%.
He didn't want to stress it and he made the right decision I think to come off, even though if it's a cup final or something I think he keeps playing.
Joffy was a little bit injured this week and with a lot of games coming up, we just wanted to make sure that we manage him the right way. But Rodri is playing so well and he has flexibility to play in the 10 or the nine, or the nine-and-a-half is really good and he's been incredibly important.
Does that refocus your mind in the transfer market?
I understand that transfers are always a lightning rod and people want to talk about this a lot. The transfers have I think got us to where we're at, which is we made them early, we brought in players that we think fit the way we want to play and are playing quite well and at quite a high level.
Now we're just trying to be prudent with how we make our last decision. So striker has always been in our mind, but we're doing it in a way that we think makes sense. But yes, obviously, we think that that's something that we need to continue to evaluate on what kind of move we make.
Overall, progress so far?
When you remove the emotion because the emotion is high, in a situation like that. Then you see that clearly we're making progress as a team which is very rewarding with all the work that everybody's putting in. Now, for me, there's still so much room for improvement and more potential and that's the key, keep getting guys healthy, keep integrating guys the right way and it was good to have Luis Sinisterra on the pitch I think he's going to be an outstanding player for us.
We'll get Adam healthy, we get Liam back, we get Luke closer and closer, we get Junior Firpo back and then all of a sudden we start to have a full squad of players that you think can be called on at almost any time. Then the clarity of the tactical model and the ideas on the pitch are starting to put more and more to practice at a high level which means that we can grow as a team and as individuals. So again, half full, but we want it all the way full. We want it at maximum potential and we're going to get there.
What is Gelhardt’s problem and what is Cooper’s issue?
Joffy has a dead leg and with a bunch of midweek games coming up. We didn't want to push him so we left him home but he'll be training this week. I think Patrick will be training this week as well. Liam, he picked up a little bit of something yesterday and so we decided not to include him in the squad today, but we're hopeful that he will be back soon.
Talk us through your thinking in the final 20 minutes or so?
There were changes I had in my mind but I wasn't sure that it was necessary and before we even had a chance to see if we could settle the match down with what they adjusted to, the two goals came so quickly.
Probably, if I could do it again, I would have made the changes I made with Klich and Luis earlier and then maybe we could have controlled things a little bit but I also thought if we played effectively with five in the back, we could have shut the match down.
This is the hardest part for me of being a manager, last week we made some changes and it really helped the game. This week, we tried a few different things and we brought guys in and you know what was the tiny timing and how could we have helped more? That's always the first question I asked myself, how can I how can I help the guys as much as possible to get the job done?
You spoke about Rodrigo briefly, he’s got a knack of the right place at the right time to find these goals, hasn’t he?
The goals are one thing but for me even more so the quality at which he's playing, the clarity, the tactical awareness, the discipline, the work rate. He's putting new full performances together.
Again, I could go through each one of the guys right now and say, there's still so much more that they can continue to develop into so that's a good feeling. I think we sense in our group that we have positive momentum and a good thing going but we can't be complacent and in some ways maybe that's what this is, it's a little bit more for us to know that as good as it's been in the early stages we have a lot more to do.
You pushed Rodrigo further forward at half-time, is Rodrigo more suited to an advanced role than Dan James?
Well, I think the idea was that maybe we could challenge their backline with Dan’s speed, but we weren't getting enough of that. Dan had a big chance at the end of the first half that maybe would have rewarded that idea. But then I just felt like making the rotation of putting Rodri in a more dangerous spot putting Brenden in the middle to help find pockets in their team and also to help press and win balls and then Dan in the right flank to be a little bit more aggressive to be running in the deep and being vertical.
Rodri, obviously, I thought the first goal was a really good goal, a really good connection between him and Jack and Brenden, I thought was fantastic.
Does Patrick need to get on a roll?
It's the reality and again, we've even tried in the week to modify his load and to make sure he's been feeling great, but it's obvious that when you're out for so long that there's going to be little things that pop up. What I'm most pleased with is that he was honest with us and made the decision that it just wasn't right. Maybe we could have made the decision not to play him but he felt good and in the end you know, you're right. We have to manage him appropriately like you definitely one on
You know Ralf fairly well, he’s under pressure, but do you have respect for him as a manager?
If you just talk about Ralf, the person, he's an amazing man. I said this last night he's like a gentle giant. He's an open and honest guy. He's built with no cynicism, or selfishness and that's what I like and admire about him. So I want him to be successful, not today, but I want him to be successful because I like him so much.
I thought the changes he made were really good. Then yeah, of course at that moment, they can be a little bit more aggressive and Southampton had nothing to lose. So they played that way and that the first goal changes the match and if we could have held on a little bit more then maybe we’d have been able to secure the three points.
You looked strong at set-pieces, is that something you’re targeting?
Yes, we are. I would say we are stable defensively and we are dangerous offensively. So we've put a lot of energy into it.
I've switched Mark Jackson to be a set-piece coach among other things, but he's put a lot of work into the organisation of what we're doing. He's invested in the guys, the guys have invested in him in that role, and I think you see the rewards for that. So yeah, I felt like almost every set piece situation that we could have found a goal so that will be important for us for sure.
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