What’s the latest team news?
William [Saliba] is still not available. He’s progressing well and we’re hopeful that we’ll have him available in the next few weeks. We’ll have to see. Eddie is back. He’s fully fit now and he’s back.
So Eddie is available for selection?
Yes.
Is Saliba back on the grass?
He’s not far off starting to do that. Obviously we need to be cautious because of the injury but he’s evolving well.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta offers crucial William Saliba injury update ahead of Arsenal's clash with West Ham
Players seemed upset after the late goal from Liverpool. Were you pleased by that?
Yeah. They should be. When you concede in the last few minutes you have to be upset because we wanted to win the game. We have to be realistic and we have to accept that we had an exceptional period in the first half where we had to win the game. Then we had some tough moments and we had to dig in, and yeah, that was the game.
Have you spoken to the players about how to stop the second half happening?
After the game it’s easy to say 'stop happening'. We tried to prevent that in many moments against them and we actually did. They are always going to have areas of the game where they have periods of dominance and we didn’t manage to get out of that game well enough and that’s why you suffer.
Is luck going to be a factor?
You need luck in the right moments. That luck, why it’s coming and how you think about it is really important and what you think is going to happen. It’s another part in this sport. Sometimes it’s about inches and they have to go your way.
City were involved in Europe this week. Are you now reaping the benefits?
We want our players to be as fit as possible and available. We’ve had some issues in the past few months with some important players and we want to have everybody fit and available to help the team.
Opta have City at a higher percentage to win the league. What do you make of that?
When you asked them at the start of the season, for sure it was like this. So nothing has changed.
At the beginning of the season did you envision you’d be fighting for the title?
Yes.
Really?
*Laughs* You go day by day honestly. There is so much that happens in a month in football that you cannot really look. Obviously the aim was to take this football club back where it belongs and that’s fighting and being around every single trophy possible. That’s what we’re trying to do.
Are you ahead of schedule?
We are where we are. Now we have to finish the job. In order to do that we’re going to have to demand an extra bit from everybody.
What’s caused Martinelli to improve so much this season?
He’s playing more games, that’s for sure. He’s got another year of experience, he’s got huge understanding with his teammates. The way he approaches every single session, his training, his life, it’s just to be the best. When you have that consistency that he has in how he deals with everything every day, only good outcomes are going to be in front of him. I’m not surprised about that. The good thing is there’s still a lot to improve.
What kind of game are you expecting from West Ham?
Very difficult game. We’ve been there a few times and it’s always been tricky. I know David [Moyes] very well, how he’s going to prepare the game as well. We know it’s going to be a fight, it’s going to be a big derby for us and that’s how we have to prepare it.
Feelings towards Moyes?
It’s admiration. I loved playing under him. I would go through a brick wall for him as would everyone from that squad. Really good coach, exceptional at managing the group and dealing with individuals, and a really special person. Really trustworthy and a man who honours his words. Someone I learned a lot from.
Lessons learned from him?
He saw things in me that I didn’t know and he asked me to play in positions I had never played in my life. The way he challenged me but gave me love, support and care at the same time was the right balance and was what I needed. He got the best out of me so it was really helpful.
Ramsdale one of the main reasons you’re challenging?
You need individuals performing at the highest level but certainly you need your keeper to be impressive at certain moments. Every team who has won titles has a keeper who is a key contributor to that and Aaron has been really good this season.
Watch City game?
We will watch it and we will watch many other Premier League games.
Lessons from Rangers title race?
The same when I was at other clubs when we were fighting for trophies. It’s to stick to what you do every single day, be at your best and never give up as there is always another moment and in football you have to be ready when that opportunity comes.
Learned from McLeish how to take it game by game during that run?
Talking about it and demanding from each other. Creating an environment that nothing is more important than actually what happens today and when that happens, everyone understands you are present in the moment.
Goal difference something you’re thinking about?
We think about everything. Obviously we want to matches first and earn the right to win it and then score as many goals as possible.. You have to be open to every single possibility.
If you go 2-0 up early will you attack to maximise goals?
Every day is a different story.
West Ham was a game that would give you nightmares before. Are they coming back?
There were certain lessons we had to learn from that game, especially the way we started but also what we did afterwards. For the supporters and viewers it was probably a great game to watch and they have the capacity to take the game into scenarios like that, but obviously we want a different game.
You said the team had two faces – what has changed?
Consistency. In every ball we play, in every scenario and game. That’s why we are where we are. We have been performing at the highest level for many months and before that is something we didn’t do.
Odegaard statement performance vs West Ham. Is that the day you saw captain material?
No, but that was a game that took his status to a different level because of the context of the game in that period. It gave him a huge boost of confidence and (helped him) understand how good he was.
Zinchenko upset after being subbed. Has his reaction been good?
Really good, no problem.
Have you spoken to him about winning the league and what it takes more now given his experience?
The boys who have won it brought something different to the team as they have experienced those moments. They know that we have to seek excellence against the opposition we play against, and it has to be perfect in everything we do to earn the chance to be there. Another thing is to win it but we are there and now we have to win it, so we have to be exceptional at everything we do.
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