On getting back on track
“We played well. It got a little bit nervy at the end and we should have been out of sight by then. We had some fantastic chances and didn’t quite manage to put the game to bed. With Luton’s physical threat, they are always a danger from set plays and we end up having to survive a nervous few minutes. In terms of performance, it was much improved. Very good for a long spell.
“The scoreline probably doesn’t do it justice. We had some fantastic opportunities from playing some really good stuff and cutting through them, but it was a really good performance and I’m pleased to bounce back from Wednesday.”
On Hwang’s efforts and goal
“Channy looked good. He looked a lot more energetic, he made a lot more runs in behind and didn’t look like he had to rest for a while between each one, he was able to keep on going. The fitness staff were desperate for me to take him off, which I normally listen to, but today I completely ignored.
“I thought the win was really important to us and Channy looked OK, so I’m glad he got 90. I’ll get him rested up now and ready for a trip to the Etihad. Cunha’s the same. As you could see, he’s not quite fully fit, but still having him and Channy on the teamsheet and what they’re able to do in attacking situations is big for the group.
“It’s the importance of having a clinical, goal scoring number nine. We wouldn’t have scored that last weekend, without Channy we don’t score a goal like that. He’s a number nine, it’s movement behind, and we’ve been missing that. We haven’t had any cutting edge or anyone who looks really clinical, but Channy and Cunha add to that massively for us.
“Having our best attackers available is massive. We’ve been a long time without them. The group’s managed to stay together and keep competitive, playing good stuff, and apart from Wednesday night when we were below our level, we’ve been consistent.”
On the crucial second
“We spoke about it at half time. We were really poor at arriving in the box in the first half. We got down the sides quite a lot but all the players on the opposite side weren’t arriving at the goal. It was mainly directed at Rayan and Cunha not getting in when Nelson was crossing, but if Toti wanted to take the message on board and arrive in the box, that’s fine by me. He was in there and, considering he had a tight hamstring today, and we were a little concerned about him, I thought he put in an excellent performance.
“There were a lot of well-worked and planned routines which came off, even throughout in the game. The goal kick where we get Nelson through on goal – lots of stuff came off today that we work on. But I still think we need to be a little more ruthless, as you saw at the end then, it only takes one moment and we could have lost two points, so we could have been more ruthless.”
On using optimism for last three
“It’s amazing the difference having a couple of attackers available to you can make. We’ve not been able to name Cunha and Channy in the same starting eleven since December 30th. Although they’re both not fully fit at this moment, to have them both starting is a massive boost to everybody and Pedro’s not too far away either.
“You go back all the way to October, the last time them three were on the pitch at the same time. We’re getting closer, the lads that have been fit have dug in, fighting and scraping. We’ve lacked a cutting edge, but we found that today to get us over the line. Up to 46 points and up to 10th, and let’s see what we can go from here.”
On most games in a season for most players
“We did some work around the squad depth and the areas which we’re going to try and improve for next year and not many of our players have played more than 30 games in a season very often. Most of them have done 20 or 25, so there’s an awful lot of them where this is the most games they’ve ever had to play.
“Not only have we got a small group, we’ve got a group who aren’t used to having to play 38/40 game seasons. Joao, Toti, I think this is Mario’s biggest season, Cunha’s biggest season, there’s loads of them who have had to play a lot more often than usual.
“It’s obviously something that helps us moving towards next year on things we need to improve, but the group have given us so much to get to this point that I’m glad we’re able to stop a tricky spell. I can sit in the press conferences and tell you how short we are, but it was still seven without a win. I spoke yesterday about how important the win was, and thankfully we managed to get it.”
