Not a lot went right for you but what was the core reason for what went wrong?
It’s a tough place to come. We knew it was going be a tough game. I thought without the ball we were strong and stood up. I think we needed to be better with the ball and that's the thing we need to work on quite a bit if we're going to start creating more chances.
Is it fair to say you were outfought in key areas?
No, I don't think that. I think we dealt with second balls for long periods of the game. We knew the type of game they play and they're good at it, that's the way they play but I thought we battled quite well. I just think we didn’t create enough with the ball.
No shots on target so clearly you didn’t do enough, as for the goal, I think everyone was quite stunned it went in. From your point of view, what’s gone wrong there?
We've been caught, Illan has been caught off his line but he has been a huge player for us this season and he's saved us lots of points. Maybe his positioning, I need to look back at it, but maybe his position a little bit, but he's a top player. But in these games, these things sometimes get you the wins.
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You're the man in the hot seat and I know you’ve got two people with you, but in essence now with the Southampton game and results going against you, is this the biggest coaching week of your life coming up?
A big coaching week and it's my job to try and get them prepared again to Southampton as much as we can.
What about Cooper, you didn’t bring him on when Wober went off and Pascal Struijk wasn’t involved. Can you just explain the two scenarios?
Yeah, so we lost Max at half-time to his shoulder. He carried on but he's, he's really hurting. I think he popped his shoulder out which was a big move for us because we lost our left foot on that side. Pascal had a bit of fogginess in training yesterday so had to move back on the concussion protocol. So he couldn’t actually be involved today, in the end, even though he trained yesterday. So that was difficult. Liam was on the bench, but he’s not ready for long minutes so we were just making sure we protect him.
Are you confident you can get some players back this week?
I think so yeah. I'm confident we'll hopefully get those ones that are close to add to the depth of the squad so we can keep moving forward.
And just finally, Michael, it looks like you're going to be in charge for next week. Is there any talk about being in charge for longer at this stage?
No, just talking to the board and having conversations. At the minute I’m planning training for next week against Southampton.
How do you improve on the ball in order to create chances? Is it down to individuals or is it a game plan?
Both. It’s down to both. We have to make sure we get the structure right as a staff and then the individuals need to be brave, ready to play and I thought at times today because it was such an out of possession game, if you like, how we manage that and be better on the ball is really important.
Obviously it's not just a coaching job this week, you're going to have to lift them from presumably a low ebb, how do you go about that?
It's natural. We knew how big the game was. It's a natural thing that when we're fighting for points in every game is about three points. When you lose the game, it's important to pick them up and focus and go again. And that's what we'll do.
Why was it so different last week, do you think? Those two performances we saw were so improved against Manchester United…
Different game, for me a completely different game. Everton are physical, strong, they run they hit switches and diagonals, and it’s a completely different games. So the style of play is different and you have to adapt to that quickly.
Are you happy shouldering this job in the circumstances with the fans unhappy in the stands?
I'm happy to shoulder the job, I'm happy to do the best job I can. We need to be better, we need to prepare, we need to get better with the ball but no, I'm happy.
Do you think the squad has it in them to get out of this situation?
For sure, yeah. For sure.
What makes you confident?
They're good players. I think they're good players. We have good players at the club. We have good midfielders, good defenders, good strikers. We have good players. We've just got to get it right and keep pushing and keep moving forward and I feel with confidence we can get out of it.
There seemed to be a little bit of a flare up at the end with Seamus Coleman and one of your players, I think it was Gnonto, who seemed to be very, very unhappy about something. Do you know what that was?
I don't. I don't know what that was at the minute. I tried to just defuse it and get him in but I can't tell you what that is at the minute.
You saw it going on though?
Yeah, I saw it go on and I tried to go over to Willy and diffuse it but I don't actually know what the incident was.
A lot of managers don't like to overemphasise the importance of individual fixtures, Michael, but in terms of momentum for the rest of the season. How big do you think this could be for both Leeds United and Everton?
I think for both clubs, I think every game. Now we move into the next game, which is another important game, this game was important. I think the Premier League is a tough league and every game is going to be tough. We just need to keep pushing and try and get more points. So I think every game is important.
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