Reaction: Cleverley Post-Coventry

Tom Cleverley spoke to the media following today’s 2-1 defeat away at Coventry City.

Read what the Hornets Head Coach had to say below...

On showing their best after going 2-0 behind:

“It’s the story of our season really when we’re waiting for the opposition to make the first move before we really kick into gear.

“It’s a mindset that we’re still trying to get to the bottom of. Why do we show our best stuff when the shackles are off?

“Maybe a little bit of pressure is off. I can’t accuse the players of ever giving up. They give me everything all the way to the final minutes.

“But we’ve given ourselves too much to do. And that’s a mindset we have to find answers to.

“We’ve showed in those moments that we can be a good football team. We just need to be more relentless. In the first-half we took the negative decisions, whereas at the end of the game we seemed to take the positive decisions.

“I’ll involve the players, and research why we are flat as it was a problem which was happening before I came in, and I’d love to be the one to fix it.”

On Coventry’s two goals:

“The first goal disappoints me. I thought we had enough players at source to stop the cross, and enough in the box to defend it a bit tighter.

“The second goal seems very harsh to blow for handball.”

On restoring Ryan Porteous and James Morris to the side:

“We saw that with a back three we could step in with those outside players, with James giving us a balance with his left foot.

“Ryan is similar and very good at stepping in, and can match their front two with his speed, so I thought they both did well.

“The squad is thin at the minute and I’m having to rotate and try to keep it as fresh as possible.”

On acknowledging the fans at the end:

“Obviously, we’re appreciating the level of support we’re getting. I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t like the limelight too much. It feels very one-sided.

“I’ll always appreciate that and the players carrying on to the end in every game deserve some of that backing as well. The numbers they are travelling in at the minute, despite setback after setback, it really makes us proud.”

 On a clear week before facing Norwich on Saturday:

 “It's been Saturday-Tuesday for what seems like forever, so I think it’s important that everyone takes a little bit of rest.

“It’s been a tough period, I’m not going to beat around the bush, but I’ve never shirked away from a challenge and I’m ready to attack this one.

“We’ll have four days to prepare for Norwich, which is the longest we’ve had since well before Christmas.”

On the injury situation:

“If the game was on Tuesday or Wednesday, Imrân Louza might have had a chance.

“I expect him to have a strong chance for Norwich. Festy [Ebosele] wasn’t as bad as first thought, it’s the same ligament as Dan Bachmann but it doesn’t look like he’ll need surgery to repair that.

“Kwadwo Baah looks like the non-surgical route but we’re still talking months not weeks.”

On the last 48 hours and the backing from the club’s owners:

“To have the owner and Scott’s [Duxbury] backing means I can do what I feel like I’m good at, and that’s focus on preparing the team.

“I was pleased with the statement and I’m ready to roll my sleeves up and fight through this tough period that we’re going through as a club, and I feel like I am the right person to do that.

“The statement calmed speculation and hopefully that’s the end of that now and I can really focus on the team in what’s an important period for us.

“I’m quite good at not taking anything to heart, good or bad. I’m in an industry where poor results will bring speculation around my job. That doesn’t scare me one bit. I’m determined, I’m resilient, I’m ready to work harder than ever and fight.

“I got into this because I’m passionate about developing players and that’s the part of the role I want to focus on.

“Scott Duxbury has always been a huge supporter of mine. We’ve got a fantastic relationship, me and Scott. He’s always backed me, always told me to keep calm. My job is to focus on the team and I know Scott will always back me.”