Mike Dodds met the media ahead of our trip to West Brom. Here’s what he had to say…
LEEDS
"I've said it a lot but I understand that if I win games I'll get praise and if I lose it's the polar opposite. I think the circumstances to the last time I took over have been completely different and it's taken longer to get them going in the direction we want. With all the games apart from the first half of the Swansea game and the game last Monday, there have been pockets that I really liked. The reality is I will reflect on this period and be better for it, I think the average age of the games I've taken is 22 and I think the most experienced manager could be sat here… you can only deal with the hand you are dealt. I'm really proud of how I've prepared the team but sometimes you need a bit of a help. It hasn't gone as well as I'd hoped, of course it hasn't, it’s something I want to do in the future but I'm not going to chase it. If I keep trying to improve every day, one day someone will give me the opportunity and I'm confident I can do OK at it."
ROTATION
“As a coach I think if you start experimenting it gives the players a little bit of an excuse to say ‘are we going to win this game’ or ‘what are we trying to do here.’ The focus from me and the focus from the group is to try and win every game of football and that has been no different from when I took the team a few months ago. Fortunately, now I have a little bit more competition for place so there is more expectation from my perspective to get results.”
TWO X 0-0
“I think if we were better with the ball in key moments against Leeds I think we could have won the game. I say that respectfully to Leeds because I didn’t feel like they were going to break us down. I feel like there were a couple of moments where if we’d made a better decision we’d have scored. I think against Bristol we would have been deserved winners. Their goalkeeper got man of the match. So we could be sitting here with two wins, that’s probably where my little bit of frustration is if I’m honest.”
MAJA & M'VILA
“I think they’ll both be involved. I’d be surprised if they both start. I think Josh has been out since he played us last time and has been out so I wish him well, not on Saturday but I wish he gets back on the grass as soon as possible. Yann M’Vila, it was his first start the other night so I’d be very surprised if he goes back to back in a week. My gut is they won’t feature from the start. I think West Brom are a different type of opposition. The coach I think is one of the best in the league. I’m a big fan of his and I think he’s maximised what he’s got at West Brom. I think West Brom have got a good squad, don’t get me wrong, but I think he’s done a really, really good job. It will be a tough game but it will be completely different to Leeds.”
FORMATION
“I think the whole starting XI would have an argument to start again because, out of possession they executed what I asked of them. I felt in possession there were key moments with the game where we didn’t quite execute a pass. I will do my research on the opposition and pick a team I feel is a capable team to win the game. We’ll see for tomorrow.”
ROBERTS
“In an ideal world I’d have a fully-fit Patrick Roberts who can have an influence on the games. Thankfully Chris Rigg has come in and done really well. Pat is in a good place, he’s refocused, we’ve had an honest conversation after the Blackburn game in terms of where I think he’s at. I think it’s important we get him onto the pitch going into the summer. Again, it’s the balance of that risk factor. Pat has got to have a big summer; we’ve had that conversation. He’s got to come back really fit, really strong. Patrick Roberts should be the first name on our team sheet, his ability is undoubted. Unfortunately for Pat he will have been at a lot of football clubs where people will have had that conversation. At some point the penny has got to drop for him.”
HANDLING REHABS
“For Dennis and Aji, knowing they can play 60 or 90 minutes, going into the summer knowing their body is in the right place will be important for them. If there was a huge risk factor we obviously wouldn’t take that risk, and you can see that a little bit with who has come back. Patrick and Aji, we have probably gone a bit slower than we would have done earlier in the season. I do think it’s important for a Dennis, or an Aji, to be back playing going into the summer. You them have the off season and pre-season, 12 weeks until your first competitive game. We hope to see Dennis back. He’s back training with the group but not fully training with the group. I think like the other lads who have come back, you don’t want to rush them back. The plan is to try and see him before for the end of the season, whether that materialises we’ll find out in the next couple of weeks or so. Everyone else is good. We’ve had a good few days. Everyone is where we want them to be.”
