Press news in...

🟡🟢 Philippe Clement is at Coolknee for press news in.
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We start with injuries. Clement says there are no major new injuries but there are still some "knocks and bruises" that will have to be assessed closer to kick-off. Papa Amadou Diallo will be back in "partial" training next week.

On Diallo: "We have to build that story step-by-step and slowly. Maybe I would like to go faster but we will work with the medical story. The excitement is more for February than January."

PC says he's seen good signs from training today. "A lot of people were in a good mood and training well. There's very positive energy in the building. I expect the fans to give the team extra energy."

On fitness decision making: "It's a combination. I don't only lean on players - everybody wants to play and sometimes they are not honest. We test them every day, we test their blood for example. Everybody is recovering better than they were four or five weeks ago."

PC asked about McConville, Mattsson and McLean, who have played every minute of the festive period. He says: "If they didn't have good basics then it wouldn't be possible. They've been top for 90 minutes, and the structure of the team also helps them. They can focus on their roles now. But of course we cannot start every game with the same two in midfield. Jacob Wright can also play there, so that's interesting in the next few weeks."

On speed of progress: "I cannot be surprised because I don't have expectations around those things. You look at the team and see what they can do technically, what you can change tactically, the physical potential, but you need to get to know the players. The mental part and the learning part is the hardest part. I have long talks with new players to see if they have this learning part. These players are good human beings also."

Clement says that consistency is the next challenge. "We need that," he adds, "if we want to get the team where we want it. They've shown the right signs. There's been some consistency in results, but for me that's over a season. There's still a long time to go."

Have the games been low-margin on purpose? "I think the league is like that and you see that every week. We defend better than in the past and we play offensive football. In the final third we haven't created enough yet and we need to have clearer ideas of what to do when. We're working on that as a group, and we also need to improve that in the transfer window, to get more quality and creativity in the group."

PC: "Not all the games we've won were tight. There were games where we were clearly better but we didn't score goals. For me it's about scoring more goals from the occasions where we can create and the opportunities we have. I also want more players scoring goals. That's a work in progress."

On why City haven't been able to convert attacking situations into goals: "It's the right runs at the right moments and also the decision-making in the final third."

"After I brought him in and took him off, it was on me," says Clement of Matej Jurasek. "But he took it in the right way, worked hard with the staff and had extra video meetings. He worked himself back into the team. He's by far not at his highest potential, but he has quality on the ball and goals and assists in him. It's up to us to bring him up to the physical level."

Clement: "[Jurasek] has confidence in himself. That's a good quality and an important quality. It's more to do with the physical ability to do it several times in a row, both the offensive action and the defensive action afterwards."

Could Jurasek be a number 10? "He can, but he feels better from his right side. It's not the time to experiment with him too much in different positions."

On Kvistgaarden lack of minutes and why that is: "The situation is that at first he was not fit. It's better now and we're coping with his training and playing minutes. But also players have been top in that period, and that's football. Jovon and Josh have played well as strikers, but I see Mathias making steps. He has potential to play elsewhere, but his best position is central."

"It's a big challenge, a good team," says PC of Stoke. They have good wingers, a good striker and a number 10 who is creative. Almost every team we play against has more points than us. I like the way that Stoke plays football - they have a good team, clearly well structured with good ideas from the manager."

On Stoke injuries: "They have a different dynamic with their attacking full backs and not having them available. But I've had that in the last few weeks - it's part of the game."

On Mark Robins' reputation: "I understand why, because Stoke play with clear, good ideas and a good structure. It's very clear that he's a very good manager."

Clement on fans: "Some people told me after the QPR game that it was an atmosphere like the year when they were champions. We are a long way from that, but it's good that the positive vibe is there. That's what we wanted, what we spoke about when we came in. We wanted to get this synergy back that I know this club is about."

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That's all from Clement. Onto Carrow Road...

Posted By: DrDublin, Jan 3, 13:48:06