Can I ask you about Bruno? He’s many people’s favourite to be Player of the Season. And in terms of his attacking stats, he’s a mile ahead of pretty much everybody else in terms of goals created, certainly. So, if you can explain to us since you’ve been in here, when it all seemed to change, exactly what you’ve facilitated or what the club’s facilitated to push him to those levels again?
“Certainly, personally, I think giving Bruno the platform to go and perform, like all the players. I think we’re trying to create the structure and a team set-up, really, to try to bring out the best of everyone within that. There are obviously limitations in terms of, everyone’s got to sacrifice a little bit for the good of the team. But, for me, I like seeing Bruno in attacking positions with a little bit of freedom. He obviously, again, plays for the team and he has a big responsibility within that and I thought he did that ever so well, especially on Saturday, without the ball, and the defensive work that he did. So, he’s got big responsibility within that. But trusting him, you know? He’s a very good player, he sees things, he’s creative, he’s got a really good brain, he’s a big part of the group as well and a big influence. So, a lot of it’s in trust and trying to put him in a position where we think he can make the biggest difference really.”
I was going to ask you about the various qualities that he’s got. Is there any in particular that have impressed you since you’ve come in, now that you’ve seen it at closer quarters, and why?
“I’ve known Bruno a long time and worked with him when he was here, when he came to the club, so again, it hasn’t surprised me. I knew exactly what he could bring. I think, over time, you kind of evolve and experience helps and you can certainly see that he’s grown as well in a real positive way. So he’s just a big influence, he’s had a big impact and he’s playing ever so well at the moment, so we’re delighted with that.”
Since Saturday, [Liam] Rosenior’s lost his job. I just wonder, as a new English coach, how you view management at the moment. I was working it out, the time that you were at Middlesbrough, there were 20 managers currently in work who have been in a job longer than you were at Middlesbrough before, and there’s been 20 managerial appointments since you’ve been appointed here. I just wonder how do you do that job? Because you don’t get time to build anything in the way that you used to.
“There’s obviously two sides to it. There’s definitely instant results, and the next game being as important as ever, but there’s definitely the responsibility, and certainly our thinking as a coaching staff and as a club of what the future looks like and trying to make that better in the bigger picture. You can only be positive and look to what’s achievable. That’s how I am. I think there’s all sorts of negatives or setbacks or what might [have been] or what ifs in the world anyway. I think I like to live my life in a positive way, in what can be achieved every day, to be honest with you. So, ultimately, at the end, it’s some sort of success for us between now and the end of the season and then see what happens after that. But I don’t think about what could go wrong. We get balanced, obviously, because we’ve got to make decisions on that, but I don’t live my life like that. It’s more of a case of what can be achieved, I think that’s a much nicer way and positive way to look at it.”
Does it not affect your thinking though when you know that in two months’ time if results don’t go well, not you specifically, but a manager can be at the job just over a very short space of time?
“Not massively, it doesn’t. Day-to-day, my thinking is how we work with the players, how we set teams up, how I approach it, my mentality to work in the role I’m in – it genuinely doesn’t [enter my thinking]. I think that it’s the world we live in some ways, but I really don’t think like that. I just keep thinking about what we can achieve, what success looks like for me personally in some ways, but more about the group, the staff, the players, and the club. I think that’s the most important thing. It’s such a big difference, half full, half empty, what do you focus on? Some people naturally focus on different things. For me, it’s all about what we can achieve and how we’re going to get there.”