Press news in....

Here is the boss:
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DF: It was a tough couple of days after the defeat. We played some fantastic football. On a good day, we would come in at half-time 3/4-nil up.

DF: The opponent was able to score 2 out of their 3 chances. This happens in football. It was one of those games.

DF: It's important you don't lose to trust or the confidence. It's also important we have the right mentality.

DF: We have had two top-class games, against Leicester and Wolves. There has been no other side this season who has created as many chances against Wolves than us.

DF: Everyone is okay. We have no new injuries. Timm Klose and Ben Godfrey and Josip Drmic are still out.

DF: Grant was brilliant. I was really pleased with him. It’s not easy for him to played lots of games coming up. It’s important we manage his workload in training.

DF: Each and every game is difficult. We are greedy to win some points.

DF: We speak each and every day about the future of our squad. The January market is always a bit more expensive. We will stay awake for some business. We don't need to force too much.

DF: We are realistic. I don't expect us to do too much business but we will stay awake.

DF: I'm much more relaxed than transfer windows before. We can't afford top-class players but we don't have to sell our key players.

DF: Racism isn't a problem just in football, it's a problem in society. The football family has to be strict with it.

DF: Josip is doing individual stuff in training. I expect him to be back in the mix after the Preston game.

DF: Fingers crossed Grant can stay fit. He's not had great luck with injuries. He's a great character and never searched for any excuses.

DF: I'm delighted for him that he's back. He did well against Jimenez. It's great to have him back in good shape.

DF: It's always sad when key players are injured. I feel for Villa with McGinn. It's a big blow for them, we know how it feels. But everyone has to handle it. It's a big chance for another player to come in.

DF: They have a big squad and lots of competition in the midfield areas.

DF: The Carrow Road game was a strange one. Our performance didn't deserve the result. We had a lot of injuries and as a result, we not competitive.
We are in a much better position now in terms of injuries.

DF: We are not the favourites in this game but we can definitely be competitive.

DF: The Premier League is very close. Every game is difficult for every team. Everton were involved in the relegation battle so far and it's unbelievable when you look at their squad that they are down there.

DF: You can quickly gain momentum in this league and I'm convinced Villa can pick up 2/3 wins in a row to move up the league.

DF: The fans are always emotional. When you lose a game, everything is criticised and you always think you would have done things differently.

DF: We have lots of competition for places at the moment. Our starting players are delivering at the moment and it's difficult to disappoint players by leaving them out.

DF: We would have preferred to get points in the home games against Villa, Watford and Sheffield United. But you cannot choose when you get your points. We will try and be competitive as possible in the games coming up.

DF: Wolves were taking a lot of short corner deliveries. Moutinho mishit his cross and out of this coincidence the ball went to the far post. We expect the ball to go to the front post.

DF: Sam maybe could have been a bit more physical at the back post but it felt like a situation of "Why always us?".

DF: We have conceded a few goals out of set-pieces which is down mostly to the fact that we aren't a physical side.

DF: Sam Byram was there with a top-class performance on Saturday. Emi Buendia spent time out of team but he was superb on Saturday. We have to be mentally strong and keep working hard. If we deliver that performance 20 times again this season, we will win points.

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That's all from the boss! More reaction to come ahead of Boxing Day on our channels this afternoon and tomorrow.

Posted By: DrDublin, Dec 24, 13:33:10