[size=12pt]Hodgson with the journalists[/size]
15th Dec 2010 - Latest News
Roy Hodgson found time ahead of Utrecht to field questions from radio journalists about youth, Steven Gerrard's fitness and negative press.
Will Pepe Reina feature in this game?
He prefers to play than not. He wants to play and I'm not going to be the one to say you can't play, so he'll be starting the game and Brad Jones will be the second 'keeper.
You've already qualified and Utrecht are not going to go through, so in a way it's a strange one...
Well, it's a 40,000 crowd and maybe more, which is incredible. It speaks volumes for the sport and Liverpool. The club's measures with the free tickets (for under-17s) have obviously proven very popular. While I'm in charge there'll be no dead matches at Anfield. As far as I'm concerned playing at Anfield is a major privilege for anybody and if you're playing in front of 40,000 people it's one of the places to play. I'm obviously happy that the knife has been taken from our throat but it doesn't take anything away from our desire to play the game and to play well. It's important for me to see a team I can relate to and enjoy and draw optimism from -especially after the Aston Villa game.
In this competition so far we've played a lot of younger lads - will that carry on in this game?
Yes, it will. David Ngog is obviously a player I don't want to risk, but if push comes to shove, with a slight cut above his eye, it wouldn't be impossible for him to play. Basically, though, a greater amount of first-team players will be involved apart from the injuries and it will be a chance for people like Wilson and Shelvey to show what they can do. They will start.
Roy, there's been a bit of talk about that team meeting after the Newcastle game. Can you tell us what happened?
To be frank, we don't have a lot of meetings. I believe in practice, and not talks and discussion like a classroom situation. But it was important for us to make one or two things clear and to air some frustrations after seeing us drop so dramatically after what we've been doing. The players accepted that and we had a very good discussion. You obviously always have a fear it will have an impact on them but they've been able to cope and that speaks volumes for the spirit of the club. The fact that the spirit and work ethic to do so well is still with us is something I am very proud of.
You said Stevie can't play but is training. Where are we standing with him?
Well, he's training every day, he's staying longer and he's working harder than anybody. It's Gerrard and Agger doing the most running every day because they've been trying to get fit and are doing it in careful circumstances with the sports science people. Controlled running, controlled training and controlled kicking. These sport science people have not said that I can have these players back in the normal working sessions. I am hoping that they will though by the end of the week, for the weekend, but I don't know.
Just how special are some of these younger players? They've all had such responsibility in the Europa League games so far and I think you even suggested last week that they've done a lot better than you suspected...
I don't know if they were expecting it, because they didn't know my managerial style. But I've said to them, 'You've got to go to Napoli, you've got to go to Utrecht and you've got to go to Steaua, and I expect you to win and get us through it unbeaten.' I guess it was a slightly unfair task but to be fair to them, they've done it for me. Great credit goes to them and I'm sure they feel very pleased about it and it has enhanced their hopes for the future.
You've been in the job for six months now - does it still surprise you the amount of negative press you get?
No, that's part of the game. I can't work harder and it doesn't concern me. I know players are working as hard as they can for Liverpool Football Club and for me as manager.
15th Dec 2010 - Latest News
Roy Hodgson found time ahead of Utrecht to field questions from radio journalists about youth, Steven Gerrard's fitness and negative press.
Will Pepe Reina feature in this game?
He prefers to play than not. He wants to play and I'm not going to be the one to say you can't play, so he'll be starting the game and Brad Jones will be the second 'keeper.
You've already qualified and Utrecht are not going to go through, so in a way it's a strange one...
Well, it's a 40,000 crowd and maybe more, which is incredible. It speaks volumes for the sport and Liverpool. The club's measures with the free tickets (for under-17s) have obviously proven very popular. While I'm in charge there'll be no dead matches at Anfield. As far as I'm concerned playing at Anfield is a major privilege for anybody and if you're playing in front of 40,000 people it's one of the places to play. I'm obviously happy that the knife has been taken from our throat but it doesn't take anything away from our desire to play the game and to play well. It's important for me to see a team I can relate to and enjoy and draw optimism from -especially after the Aston Villa game.
In this competition so far we've played a lot of younger lads - will that carry on in this game?
Yes, it will. David Ngog is obviously a player I don't want to risk, but if push comes to shove, with a slight cut above his eye, it wouldn't be impossible for him to play. Basically, though, a greater amount of first-team players will be involved apart from the injuries and it will be a chance for people like Wilson and Shelvey to show what they can do. They will start.
Roy, there's been a bit of talk about that team meeting after the Newcastle game. Can you tell us what happened?
To be frank, we don't have a lot of meetings. I believe in practice, and not talks and discussion like a classroom situation. But it was important for us to make one or two things clear and to air some frustrations after seeing us drop so dramatically after what we've been doing. The players accepted that and we had a very good discussion. You obviously always have a fear it will have an impact on them but they've been able to cope and that speaks volumes for the spirit of the club. The fact that the spirit and work ethic to do so well is still with us is something I am very proud of.
You said Stevie can't play but is training. Where are we standing with him?
Well, he's training every day, he's staying longer and he's working harder than anybody. It's Gerrard and Agger doing the most running every day because they've been trying to get fit and are doing it in careful circumstances with the sports science people. Controlled running, controlled training and controlled kicking. These sport science people have not said that I can have these players back in the normal working sessions. I am hoping that they will though by the end of the week, for the weekend, but I don't know.
Just how special are some of these younger players? They've all had such responsibility in the Europa League games so far and I think you even suggested last week that they've done a lot better than you suspected...
I don't know if they were expecting it, because they didn't know my managerial style. But I've said to them, 'You've got to go to Napoli, you've got to go to Utrecht and you've got to go to Steaua, and I expect you to win and get us through it unbeaten.' I guess it was a slightly unfair task but to be fair to them, they've done it for me. Great credit goes to them and I'm sure they feel very pleased about it and it has enhanced their hopes for the future.
You've been in the job for six months now - does it still surprise you the amount of negative press you get?
No, that's part of the game. I can't work harder and it doesn't concern me. I know players are working as hard as they can for Liverpool Football Club and for me as manager.
