Manager Ralph Hasenhüttl spoke to the media ahead of Sunday's Premier League meeting with Everton. Find out more about what he had to say.
On Team News...
Stu (Armstrong) is back in training and has had a good session with us so we will take a look at how he is for the weekend.
He’s good (after self-isolation). He’s back and didn’t have many symptoms. A little bit yes but immediately trained hard with us and showed no issues. This is a positive thing.
We have a problem with Theo (Walcott) because we are playing against Everton. Moussa (Djenepo) is still out with an injury so we have problems in the number ten position but Stu has an opportunity.
(Mohammed) Salisu is still not available, he is building up for being part of the team. He has been in team training completely this week but we have to be careful with him. Ibrahima (Diallo) is training with the team and is available. Will Smallbone is out because he has a muscle problem so hopefully should be back soon.
On Everton...
"When you see how they play and we have seen how they play in the first few rounds, it’s not a coincidence that they are unbeaten at the moment. They’ve done a fantastic job.
"They have made a few good signings in the summer and seem better organised. Definitely a very strong side but we also played last week against a team that had a lot of quality on the pitch and we showed we aren’t scared.
"We know on a good day we will have chances against every team in the Premier League. This is the goal for the weekend to show them, like in our last game against them, that we are also a strong side that’s not easy to play against."
On the current Premier League table...
"It’s not so new that at the beginning of the season there are one or two clubs performing well for a short term. It’s not a coincidence that they (Everton, who are top) are doing well because they have played fantastic football in the first six games.
"They got lots of points and are where they are. It shows that when you work good, have a good start and are competitive you can play against any team in this league.
"You can’t hang the table too high at this time of the season. We know we have lots of games to play and have played six. There’s a long way to go.
"After playing one time against every team, it’s the first moment I can say okay we are 10th best, 11th best or 7th best and then next I don’t look at the table again but I can then say okay we played everyone twice and can see how good we are.
"You may have difficult fixtures at the beginning, more away games than home and it’s not a clear picture. The table isn’t interesting at the moment, it’s more about how you play. It’s about how much we do of the things we have to do to win games and this is the focus."
ralph hasenhüttl
The Premier league is a long run, not a 100m sprint.
manager
On start to the season...
"It was a difficult start. The non existing pre-season was a tough start for us but the Premier League is a long run, not a 100m sprint.
"In this sense you can adapt to what you need to do. We still know it is tough to win Premier League games but more and more we are competitive and in the last three games we have shown that we are."
On the last twelve months...
"I’m still sitting here and a lot of things have happened since (the 0-9 defeat to Leicester) but not in a bad way. It was a new experience for me, meanwhile I have seen other strange results in the league like Liverpool losing 7-2 to Aston Villa.
"Anything is possible in the Premier League and you have to maybe have this experience once in your life. I don’t want to do it again to be honest but it wasn’t the worst experience because of the decisions we made afterwards.
"Yes it is part of our story and history but when you see the full story, the big picture, it shows you that the defeat wasn’t the end of the world and was the start of something new and better."
On Nathan Tella...
"What I like from him (Nathan Tella) is that he has no fear and is going in with a good attitude. He is good working with the ball and against it. He has speed and bravery to go deep, to dribble and is a good combination.
"In the number 10 position you must have a high workload and he does it all the time. He can get better as his final decision making is getting better but he has some qualities that can help us in the future."
Share this: