On whether this is one of the most challenging seasons he’s had during his career as a manager…
Yeah, that’s fair to say… by a mile because all the other seasons I’ve managed there were only positives. I don’t think I’d ever lost two games in a row, so it’s an exception this season for me as it is for the players. The players are not used to losing a lot or having a lot of draws. I’m not used to that as well. It’s always more of a challenge after you lose a game of football to get them going again than after a win [and] telling them we were not as good as they might think they were. So, yes, this this season has been more challenging for me as well, but you also take nice things out of it, [however] weird that may sound because I also look at how much improvement we are making.
The main thing as a manager you are always looking for is the results, but it’s also important players and the team improves, because if that doesn’t happen we’re having an even bigger problem over here. In my opinion, everyone is now able – except for maybe the players who are injured – to play every three days at an intensity level that is needed at this club, but in the Premier League as well and as a result of that, I think our performances are much, much, much, much better than they were in the start of the season. I don’t mean the first six games, maybe, but the period when we started playing a double programme because in the first six games we only had once a double programme with Everton and that was a difficult win. Since we went into that double programme, we started to drop so many points.
On whether he has done anything different in order to get through the challenges of this season…
Yeah, you always do something different because you cannot compare any season with another one and it’s different, as I said, to lead the team after a loss, or after multiple losses or after multiple draws, than it is after a win. But I haven’t [and] I don’t think anyone in this building would tell you that I completely changed. No, I didn’t, but it is different after a season that we’re having now than all the other seasons I’ve managed where we always did something special. And there is still a possibility that we can do something special this season as well.
On whether he has to ensure Champions League qualification to make this an ‘acceptable’ season…
Yes. If we don’t have Champions League football it has definitely not been an acceptable season.
On the club’s model being reliant on Champions League participation and the impact that failing to qualify would have…
That’s what I said, that when I arrived here we could only sign Federico Chiesa and that was after a Europa League season. So, that does have an enormous impact on the way this club is run, that is clear. So, we are completely aware and I am completely aware of that.
