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The live blog for Daniel Farke's pre-Stoke City press conference is coming up at 1.15pm this afternoon. Stay locked in for coverage!
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DF: It's always the same when you lose a game, you lost the momentum a little bit. We a highly motivated to return with a good result.

DF: After a loss, you have to work even harder. We want to gain momentum back as soon as possible.

DF: We have created an unbelievable amount of chances for most of the season. We've scored two goals in most games but then in those games, we should have scored five or six. We've been through a bit of a dry spell. The mistakes against Swansea cost us.

DF: There's always a few reasons why you can't score. It's difficult to score against Swansea, they have the best defensive record and many clean sheets. We played the third game within six games and it was not easy. But to be fair, Swansea made it difficult for us. One thing is for sure, we have to step up our individual performances, especially up front, but also as a team.

DF: As a team, we need to learn from the last few games. The first game against Middlesbrough we know we should finish the game with eleven players. The second game against Millwall, we needed to add a ruthless streak to our game. Against Swansea, we need to be patient to prepare our situations. It's difficult to create against a deep setting - we need to be more patient to bring our offensive players in the game.

DF: All the three topics will be important in order to step up and bounce back.

DF: We are not a side who's lost its nerves. In this league, the momentum can switch unbelievably quickly, at the end of January we were the team of the moment and five days into February our backs were against the wall. We tried to stay balanced and level-headed.

DF: It's not important where we are after 25 or 28 games. It's important where you are after 46 games.

DF: We like to lead from the front. There's no additional pressure of being at the top. Every game is difficult, I watched Barnsley v Chelsea last night and Barnsley could have won. In this league, you can't plan to win the title.
We want to finish in the top six, we were clear with this. We are 15 points clear of seventh.

DF: I'd still rather us lead from the front. But we are not concerned. Just one thing counts, we know we need to get 80 points to finish in the top six, and then we'll be greedy to reach 90 points to finish in the top two.

DF: You can't rely just on one player, but Emi is of course one of the best offensive players in this league. He's been fantastic this year and he's one who can make a difference.

DF: It's a good feeling to have Emi back.

DF: If you take Messi out of the Barcelona team, you have a different side. Emi is a very important player for us. We've spoken about the topics we need to improve. When I think about the last few games, we need competition in the offensive positions.

DF: Our creative players who've been out for a long time need time to get back into their rhythm. Kieran Dowell, Onel Hernandez and Adam Idah - they need some minutes to get back to their level. They've had a proper training week - it's possible to start all three of them. There's now pressure on the other players.

DF: We have good news with Stiepermann and Hugill. They should return back to team training next week. Marco is much improved, we check his blood every day.
Jordan's hamstring is capable to handle the load. They will be reintegrated into training next week. They could be back next weekend.

DF: There's no pressure for Nyland. He's doing some work on the pitch, he's almost available. There's no need to rush him back, Tim Krul and Daniel Barden are in good shape.

DF: All COVID results are negative. The situation has settled down a little bit. All the other players are okay, there were a couple of knocks earlier in the week, for example Grant Hanley and Ben Gibson, but they are all back and available.

DF: Jacob has played the most minutes of anyone since he came in. We felt he looked a bit tired, he needed a rest. But I always planned to bring him in for Swansea. We wanted to give Dimitris a chance to get used to English football and that's why we brought him in. It was always the plan not to give him three games within six days.

DF: Xavi was also not ready to be back in the mix. But they are all capable to play there now. We have options, it's up to them to deliver.

DF: Lots of competition at the moment and there are difficult decisions for me. But we've been waiting for this situation for 28 gamedays.

DF: January is never the right market to move, it's always a bit rushed. You have to make sure the move is spot on.
The club and Max were on the same page in January.

DF: The situation with Stoke shows how difficult this league is. They've found it very hard to get points recently even though they have one of the most experienced sides in the Championship. They were quite ambitious with their signings in January. They have potential to finish in the top six and we want to keep distance to them.

DF: It's such a tight, competitive league. We're in a great position but it's hard work and it will be tough tomorrow.

DF: It's normal for supporters to get carried away when your team is doing well. People have got used to us winning games at this level. We need to keep our feet on the ground.

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That's all from the City head coach today.

Posted By: DrDublin, Feb 12, 14:00:03