Michael Beale met the media today ahead of the visit of Stoke City...
BEALE SARCASTIC TO FANS
“It’s a huge crisis. We’re sat where we are, three points outside the playoffs with a home game coming up. I’m a little bit perplexed and bemused by the outside thing (fans criticism). It’s my responsibility and the team that we play a certain way that gets the fans to back us. The players have been outstanding in their willingness to learn what we do every day and I believe a big performance is right around the corner. The fans deserve that.”
CURRENT FORM
“We’ve lost two games. Two close games but naturally there is a lot of frustration. I am delighted with the way the players are working behind the scenes and if we win Saturday, we are just outside the play-off picture. The hard work behind the scenes will be rewarded on a matchday. We are competing in every fixture, but the problem is scoring goals. However, the work ethic is brilliant, and we are fully focused for the next game.”
INJURIES
“When I came in, we had free-flowing full-backs and Patrick (Roberts) doing well. Trai (Hume) has had to move around to accommodate those missing and Jenson (Seelt) comes in and has to play out of position. These are big misses which has affected the squad, but we know our strengths and believe we can pick up the results.”
STOKE CITY
“They are top seven or eight in the form table. Steven has gone in and changed the style, and it is going to be a tough game. We are at home, so it is a big opportunity for us to put ourselves in a good position. We are doing really good things in each game. Despite the injuries we have stayed defensively strong but in the final third, we need to now take on everything we do in training and put it right on the pitch. We have a style of play that under the pressure we haven’t been able to show in its best light. We want to lift the positivity by picking up a win on Saturday. We can put ourselves in a good position with a good result - we know there is an anxiety in the crowd, but it is our job to lift that and do well.”
