Bielsas del av pressekonferansen:
Bielsa expected from 12.30pm
Sit tight. We know it will be worth the wait...
On Stoke
“It was an important win in August over Stoke, aside from the three points.â€
Difficulty in analysing Stoke with new boss
We prepared the game taking into account the starting XI of the opponent. Taking our starting XI into account: Forshaw, Pablo, Clarke (didn’t get the other names).
We want to show we can have a positive several results in a row.
Injured players - update
Berardi will play next Monday and if everything goes well he will be in the group for the next game. Dallas started the training sessions with the group today and Douglas will do the same tomorrow. They won’t play next Monday, but they will the following under-23s game. If everything goes well they will be in for the next game after that.
It will be the same for Bamford. Maybe he will need a little more time. These three players will be available in the next 10 days. Also, Phillips will come back as he will have his three-match suspension over.
We solved the absence of Blackman with the signing of Casilla.
Casilla attributes
He’s a complete player. He’s good in the aerial game. He’s a good player when he has to block shots from the opponent. He is a player with personality. He is good with his feet and with balls in the air. We can’t say one of these aspects is a strong points, but I don’t see any weak points.
Fit enough to play now?
Today has been his first session with us. He won’t play against Stoke, even if he’s fit to do it, he won’t do it.
We’ll see the evolution in the next few days and take a decision.
Relief to focus on the football
A big relief.
Izzy Brown
He is fit. The figures we take into account when a player hasn’t played for a year, these figures show a player needs six games to recover his fitness and be ready for a high competition game.
We’ll see with the passing of the games if six is enough, too much or not enough.
Stoke thoughts - under perfoming?
We can’t have any doubt about the quality of their players. Just look at the games they play. It’s a team which has the skills to have a higher rank than the one they have now. Every time I look at the results after a game we have more unexpected results than expected ones. The attractive aspect of the Championship are these results.
If I had to describe the Championship, the one who is supposed to win does not win necessarily. If the favourite team wins it’s never easy for the favourite team.
Impact Brown can have
Brown has to show he can play. Not to me, obviously. He will have to prove himself. He has been elected the best player of the Championship some years ago.
Discussion around Brown’s success at Huddersfield.
I’m taking this example to show he has already shown his skills. When you don’t play for a year you have doubts about the level of a player. It’s not about confidence because Izzy Brown is very confident. It’s not about work because he’s a very serious professional. The idea is to take his willingness, his confidence and his work to be at the olace where he has been in the past. This is a work we are all involved in, implicated in. We have hope about it.
United are the best team this season - important to remember that?
What happened in the last few days is something complex. The focus was put on that and not on the football.