Your interview in the week was really interesting with Mark Schwarzer, can you tell us a bit more about the challenges and the need for change?

I think I've been pretty consistent in saying that. We've got a short-term challenge at the moment but I believe they're a constant in any significant rebuild. The challenges will always be there, it's how you approach and tackle them because invariably they'll be another one down the road. Provided you get through them in the right way and with the right sort of attitude, that's probably from my perspective the most important time for me to make sure I'm clear-headed about what we want to achieve and make sure I'm as clear headed as possible. Everyone's trying hard, it's not for the want of trying, so you have to stay calm, clear-headed and chart the way forward.

Does this run of results mean even more tough decisions in the summer?

No, no. Again, I think I've tried to be as consistent as I possibly can in saying we've still got a long way to go and that hasn't changed until now. I think sometimes, both in a positive and negative sense, if you go short-term stuff you're liable to jump to the wrong conclusions. The planning for the summer has been in hand for quite a while. We know what we need to do. Nothing in that space has changed. So for me, how players and staff deal with adversity is more important for our growth than a reflection of us wanting to make more changes.

You put your hand to your head and then your heart at the end of Liverpool game when approaching the travelling fans, what did it mean?

I honestly can't recall. But look, I understand what the fans are going through at the moment and it's never nice when you go through these periods. But I think it's not for the want of trying and I still firmly believe we're on the right track and these are the growing pains you need to go through. As much as you'd like to avoid it, it is part of the process of growth. For fans, for us as a club, it's to understand that the road forward is a challenging one. But every time we go through these periods I think we come out stronger and hopefully that'll happen this time.

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Tell us your thoughts on Tottenham Hotspur Women appearing in the FA Cup Final this weekend?

Massive. Rob and his players have been outstanding this year, the whole year. They've made significant inroads in terms of their progress and the opportunity to play at Wembley and win a trophy is brilliant for them and our football club. I wish them all the best and I think they'll acquit themselves well. They've shown some real resilience during the year and that'll hold them in good stead.

Burnley will be relegated if they don't win on Saturday, how do you prepare your team to face a team with that extra edge?

I think again I'm pretty consistent in saying that you've got to block that stuff out. What's really important that we prepare ourselves for another big challenge. You get to this time of the year and most games are games of consequence. We're still playing for something so you don't want to fall into that trap of expecting something different other than a really tough opponent.

As you said Burnley need a result tomorrow and they’ve been really aggressive in approach trying to get there. If you look at the last few weeks, they've picked up results and they've been a lot more aggressive in the way they've been going about it. I think they feel 'well we're going to go for it if we're going to have any chance of surviving'. So we're expecting a tough game but I think that from where we're at at the moment, it's much more important how we go into the game with a focus on our football.

Against Liverpool the first 60 minutes might have disappointed you, but were there building blocks in that last 30 minutes?

I thought there were positives in the first 60 minutes as well. I said after the game that it was obviously a disappointing defeat but I felt we played more like ourselves. There was a lot more conviction in our football and preparedness to play against really good opposition and put pressure on them. Obviously when you're 4-0 down that doesn't look great. That gives me something to build on and the last half hour was good from an output point of view. I felt that the thing that was missing before that was the final third action and that kind of flipped on its head in the final half an hour when we got a lot more effective in the final third so disappointing not to get the result and the way we lost the game but there was enough there for me to provide feedback for the boys.

What have you learned about yourself during this process and your debut year in the Premier League?

Nothing spectacular. I am what I am. I've resisted the notion to change the kind of person I am. It's not easy in the Premier League with all the attention and scrutiny. Everything you say and do is measured and it's very easy to get distracted by that, but I think nothing I've learned about myself that I didn’t already know. It's that I’m not a perfect human being and I’ll keep moving on.

You used Oliver Skipp at left-back against Liverpool, could we see him there more?

We have been working with Skippy the last few weeks. When we lost Destiny and Ben, left with Emerson who is not really a left-back, we were looking around at options and in training we have been using him in that space. I thought he did well when he came on. The way we play with full-backs, certainly with some of the positioning, he wouldn’t be too unfamiliar with the positions he would need to take up. He is an option for us and I think we need another option because we have three games this week and we only have Emerson as a back-up full-back at the club.

Is Skipp part of your plans going forward?

Yeah, I don’t see any reason why not. He probably feels like he could have played more this year. With the way the season has gone for us in terms of our games programme, he has probably been one of the ones who has suffered because we haven’t been able to get the game time rotations we need through the year. But yeah, I see Skippy as part of our future.

Is there any fresh team news?

Nothing from the last week.

You've mentioned the extra scrutiny in the Premier League and previously having confidants who set you back on track when you waver. Have there been any moments this season where you have wavered?

No. I’m sorry to disappoint. If you want me to crumble I can pretend but I’m fine. I’m all good. I have loved and enjoyed every single second of it mate, even these Friday half hour pow-wows we have. It’s all been brilliant. I have loved every minute of it. The confidants I have, mate we just talk a bit of crap for an hour or so because broadcast ask me similar stuff. But no, I’m in a really good space.

You went to Buckingham Palace this week, how did that happen and how was it?

We got an invite from the Australian government. Me and the other Aussies in the group, Mile [Jedinak], Scott [Munn], Charlie Grant from the women’s team. It was nice, a different experience. Just really inspiring because the people we met there work for charities, great causes, military people, people who are real heroes for society. They know who I am and come up and say hello, but just asking them about who they are and their life, you see so many fantastic people who do so much in communities, often without a lot of heralding from the wider public acknowledgement. I could see how happy they were to be there because finally there was some acknowledgement for them. Bizarrely enough, the sun was shining in London so we had a really nice afternoon

Was it a 'pinch me' moment for you to be with the King after the long path to this point you've taken in life?

Yeah, but I didn’t get with 10 feet of the King and if I had of got closer I probably would have asked him about the Parthenon marbles and I would probably have got thrown out. It was nice for me and my wife. These are experiences you are just fortunate because of the position I hold, not necessarily who I am. What we try to do, my wife and I, is really immerse ourselves in it and just seeing the people in there and hearing their stories, the joy they have of being there, it’s significant for me and my wife seeing how significant it is for them. When you’re in that space it’s special. So yeah it was a good day.

The King is a fan of Burnley apparently...

Probably why they kept him away from me!

So are you ready to disappoint him tomorrow?

I would be happy to disappoint him on that front. No problem.

Are you keen to give the fans something for the backing shown after the past four defeats?

Yeah I think that is the point. Three of the four defeats were away from home and we had the Arsenal game at home, where again we lost but at least we gave something to our supporters. It is important and look our supporters have been unbelievable this year for us. They've stuck with us and been a real source of encouragement for the players, home and away. Their experiences have been up and down obviously but they haven't waivered in support. It is an opportunity these last two home games, Saturday and Tuesday, for us to hopefully send them off into the summer with not what we wanted to achieve this year, but with the hope that come next year they will be ready to get behind us again.

Has Richarlison got to grips with your ideas and is he a key part of what you're doing here moving forward into next season?

Richy has been really good for us this year. You've got to remember when I took over he had scored one goal for the club and for all intents and purposes, the jury was pretty much out on him in terms of any contribution. He has got in the double figures this year I am pretty sure and he has missed a huge chunk of it, but every time he has played he has looked effective like he did against Liverpool. He scored a good goal, set up the second, been unlucky on a couple of other occasions – one Alisson save and one Joe cleared off the line. Like I said, he has been really effective for us and I think the way we play suits him to a great degree and that's why he has got the goals, but he's also worked hard himself. It's unfortunate he's had a season which is reflective of a lot of players where we have never had them for a huge chunk of time consistently.

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