Alex Neil sat down to answer some questions regarding the game on Saturday and the players potentially learning from his experiences of being promoted through the play-offs with Norwich.
IMPORTANT
“It's a big game, they're all big games we've been talking about this now for the last 7 games, we understand the importance of it but equally its not been any more important than the other ones because without those points that we've picked up we wouldn't be in this situation and equally after this game the next two are going to be vital important. It's been the case since the day I walked in the door. It’s not changed.”
NO MARGIN FOR ERROR
“There's not been any margin for error, if you look at the teams around us particularly, maybe Sheffield Wednesday, Wycombe, they've been on a really good run as well and we've had to win quite a lot of games to be in the race.”
RESTING PLAYERS FOR US
“I think the fact they rested players for the last game leading into this one, shows you obviously the significance they’re putting on this one. I know they'll say they're rotating their squad but I'll be interested to see if they did that any other time. It's gonna be a difficult game. They have a good target to hit. In terms of countering the pace, it's gonna be a tough, good match for us.”
GIANT KILLERS
“They want to come here and they want to try and win the game, they'll look at it as a good opportunity to show what they can do and they've beaten some good teams along the way, they beat Wigan recently, they beat Ipswich recently and I'm sure they'll be coming here trying to do the same.“
CONTINUE BACKING THE LADS
“I don’t think there's any significance in the fact we've had to score some last minute winners, we've been keeping teams under pressure for significant periods of the game and the game last for 90+ minutes so as I've said to the fans on numerous occasions since I've been here they just need to try stay with the lads and stay with the team and give us the backing they can and the backing that they have since we've been here and we'll do our utmost to win the game.”
GRIND IT OUT
“There will be moments where potentially we’re not moving it as cleanly, there might be moments where they have an opportunity and there might be moments where there's something in the game that goes against us so we just need to stick with the plan and try to win the match.”
BUILDING CONFIDENCE
“I think it's more confidence to the players and belief in terms of what they're doing. We've been really good in terms of getting 6 wins on the board. Arguably should be more based on the performances we've had and some of the draws we picked up. Particularly the likes of Charlton, Lincoln games like that where I thought we performed really well. It's been a good points return and we’ll go into this game with the same belief.”
GAME IN HAND
“It's only a positive if we win that game. Having that game in hand at this point in time doesn't really doesn’t mean anything because we need to turn that game into points and you'd rather have the points on the bard so yeah we know the job we've got to do and it starts with this game on Saturday and that's the most crucial one because it's the next one and then we'll see where we stand after that.“
NO STRESS
“I don't think there's any stress attached to it. I think we put ourselves in a position where it's in our hands and we know what we have to do and we're looking forward to the challenge.”
OTHER RESULTS
“There’s so many different permutations there’s no point worrying about it. I don’t see the point because we’re not in control of any of that, the only thing we can control is the next game that we play. So me sitting working out formulas as to what it looks like if somebody beats somebody or if somebody doesn’t beat somebody. Yeah like I say, I can’t have any bearing on that so I don’t see why I would spend any of my time thinking about it.”
FANS PREDICTIONS
“I think that’s part of being a fan isn’t it. It’s the excitement and the unknowing of what we’re going to produce as a team. What are they going to do as a team? That’s what being a fan is all about irrespective of who you support, so no, I certainly don’t think from their point of view. That’s part and parcel of the excitement of being a fan.”
FOCUS
“As far as I’m concerned I have a job to do. My focus is purely on what we are going to deliver in the next game. I can't affect the rest. I don’t have the time to write down formulas and who’s going to beat who, what the permutations look like, I just need to focus on what I can control.”
BALANCE
“It’s not something, in fact I don’t think we’ve ever discussed it. It’s just a case of equally we have players in our squad that have won titles before that have been promoted before. I think we have a good blend and got a good balance and we’ve got a lot of younger lads trying to find their way in the game, a lot of them in their first season this year. We’ve got some experienced lads that’ve been there and done it.”
LEARN FROM EACH OTHER
“Obviously I imagine the players will feed off their experiences more than mine because naturally when you’re a player they’re in a similar circumstance to the younger lads. So certainly if I was a player they’d be the guys I’d be feeding off rather than some old dinosaur like me that doesn’t play anymore.”
HOFFMAN’S CONTRACT
“I’m completely unaware of that. I don’t pick players based on contracts, I don’t know anything about any of their contracts. Honestly I don't have any interest in their contracts. What they have and what they’ve got is up to them. I pick the team based on what merit and what I see.”
