What's the latest team news?

Short turnaround so hard to say. Obviously a few of the lads still feeling the effects of the game. I'll have a better picture this afternoon - I don't think, knock on wood, anything significant came out of it (the Chelsea game).

Big improvement this season but what happened last night?

Yeah we weren't great - I think I said after the game. We didn't show the energy levels we normally show in a game, particularly with the defensive side of our game. Our pressing has generally been pretty consistent all year, our football's fluctuated. But especially in the first half we didn't show the same energy and intent in our defensive work.

But as I said after the game, that's my responsibility. I've got to how I'm looking at preparing a team and the team we're putting out there.

How are the players after two big defeats in five days?

I'm sure they're hurt but it's also part of the process. It's not going to change - you're not going to have less derbies next year. The big games will always be big games, and you need to feel the pain but understand that that sort of intensity will always be there when you're representing this football club.

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Sunday you're up against Jurgen Klopp - what's impressed you the most about his time in the Premier League?

He's had a massive impact. I've said before that I've always been drawn to managers who are a little bit different, who play the game a bit differently and have a really clear vision and identity, and he certainly has that. It's not easy going into a big club that has traditionally had a lot of success and has then gone through a really tough spell in terms of that, and then come in and transform a club the way he did. It's a credit to him, he's an outstanding manager.

I'm sure we'll see him back managing at the top level again because he's one of the top managers in the world. Credit to him that at such a big club he was able to imprint his style and vision and bring success.

Why have players lost conviction and belief?

There's a number of reasons and they all may be individual, so it's not a blanket. It's not surprising either because it's part of the nature of change. Change is difficult, it's relentless, it's uncompromising, it's challenging, it doesn't leave you a lot of leeway to feel comfortable. It's part of that process and my job is to navigate through that.

Started well and faded? Surprised or concerned by the pattern of season?

No and no. Every job I've taken has had tough bits sometimes at the start, sometimes in the middle, sometimes at the end. Nothing surprises me and it's a necessary port of it. It's how you grow. You don't grow by thinking everything's going to run smoothly. You need to go through these times and find out about yourself.

You will have learnt a lot about your players in the good times and also the bad times, has that changed your view of what's needed in the summer?

No absolutely not, absolutely not. I'll be very surprised if you've heard me in this room from day one saying we're still not a long way off. I think I've been pretty consistent and if someone can show me when I haven't said that, even when things were going well at the start, I still think we're a long way off.

That being said, you always want to maintain a competitiveness through that building process because at a big club I don't think you can afford to drop off the pace too much because it then doesn't allow you the possibility of continued growth. I've always balanced that off but I think I have been very, very consistent in saying we've still got a long way to go.

You said what you're trying to do players it's uncomfortable for them constantly, do you think some have shirked that or the last few games has shown they're not willing to put themselves out of their comfort zone?

No I don't think so. I don't think anyone has shirked it and I don't think it's for a lack of effort or desire. But like I said, if you haven't been put in that situation before it's confronting, challenging and it's how you navigate your way through that. Like I said, sometimes it's on an individual basis. My kind of role in that is always the collective, about the environment, how we can create an environment that they feel like they can embrace that challenge.

I don't think it's for a want of trying, I really don't. I don't think it's through a lack of effort in any way as for me I go on and measure that with the way we're training and the way we're sort of playing in games. Last night was disappointing from a defensive pressing aspect because that has been pretty consistent all year, so that was the one area I was really disappointed with but in general the lads were still trying to play and embed our principles.

How much of a concern is it that not sure which team turns up. Team that won at Villa or 4-0 at Newcastle?

It's not a concern. It's part of the process. As I said, it's where we're at. You need to understand when there is change, it's not easy, it's not smooth and it's not supposed to be. If you're really going to build for success, you need to go through tough times. You don't go out trying to fashion them, you don't create the tough times on purpose but you have to go through them.

If someone can show me a team that hasn't been through a tough spell when they're building something, I would be very surprised because it's a necessary part of the process. You need to go through that. You need to understand how you will deal with that. Who deals with it well? Who doesn't deal with it well from a football perspective, or a club perspective or a staff perspective? All those kind of things reveal themselves and it is part of the process.

You've said before that you want the team to be in a position next season to challenge Arsenal and Man City, how far off do you feel you are?

We're a long way off but it doesn't mean we can't challenge next year. I don't know which other way to put it. I think in terms of the team I want us to be we're a fair way off, but I am not dismissing the fact that we have to be competitive and challenge for success every year I am here.

I am not going to dismiss any year as just a building year. Every year is a building year to get to where we want to, but it is also an opportunity for us to have success. As it was this year and we've fallen short of that.

Sonny played a lot of games, feels he is running on empty – tempted to rest him over next week or so?

Yeah, look it's been a big challenge for Sonny this year on a lot of fronts. Not just the game, but the leadership also. It's only natural there would be some point where and again he's got to embrace this challenge because it's not going to change.

There isn't a point if you want to be successful where the relentlessness of that changes. So, you need to embrace that, understand that and knowing Sonny he will do just that. He will find a way to work his way through it.

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