PRESS CONFERENCE | Eddie Howe pre-Nottingham Forest (A)

welcome to today's press conference ahead of the caraba cup second round tie at notam Forest we'll start with Matthew as usual then sky and then BBC thanks uh hi Eddie good morning um final day of Sandro tali's 10-month ban from competitive football so firstly can you confirm whether he'll be in your squad for notingham Forest tomorrow yeah definitely be in the squad um providing com through training today and how would you assess his Fitness levels as he nears a comeback to play yeah he's fit um um he just hasn't had the match the bigger space is the 11 V1 that every footballer will tell you is the the most important thing really the game the game time but he's done everything else um he's completed all of training for a long period of time he's worked incredibly hard with the sports science team to be on top of his Fitness and make sure that he's fitter than when um than when he got banned how do you think he's feeling I'd imagine there's a range of emotions I mean probably a lot of excitement a lot of of you feel like you're probably the next stage of his career really I think when you have a a long period of time like he's had out you have a lot of time to think and analyze and to reflect I'm sure he's done all of those things and now it's just he's doing what he loves which is playing football and that would be an incredible release for him that'll obviously be a lot of attention on him at Nottingham Forest and maybe in the the first few weeks after he comes back how do you ensure and how important is it that you ensure that he's not affect Ed by any external pressures I think it's the same for all the players to be honest I think the the the microscope is on everybody uh and it will be on Sandro for a period of time I think he understands that we understand that I think it's it's small steps I think for us we don't we just expect him to be himself and play his game he's a very intelligent footballer he's a very good technician um he has to play to his strengths and not try to do anything out of out of the ordinary really and that will be huge effective for us how are you going to work it at Nottingham Forest in terms of using your squad yeah we'll look at it today I mean I think we'll try and play a really strong team we want to progress um we will make changes as well at the same time because we have a squad that I think enables me to do so while not um while not weakening the quality you saw the strength of our bench on Sunday which made a huge difference so think there's a lot players that are very eager to show what they can do so I think it's an ideal opportunity to do that and it's a competition that remains hugely important to you as a manager but also to the club isn't it no it is and we're determined to try and do well I think we've had that Focus ever since I've been here to do well in or try and do well in every competition now this competition has been good for us last year we were Incredibly Close to another semifinal and that was uh that was a bit of a low point in our season really because we were so close the season before of course we reached the final so we got good memories of the competition and we want to do well last thing for me if things had been different Elliot Anderson May well have been in your team for this match um he made the move to Forest in the summer he's played in both their league games I imagine it'll be good to see him but um I think it's probably been a difficult situation hasn't it that move in the the manner in which it happened for him yeah I mean everything that you've said there's 100% correct um watching their game in preparation for this was uh it was good to see Elliot play so well against Southampton I thought he was excellent he really contributed to their winning performance in Midfield showed his versatility I thought he did really well but it was tinged with sadness for me because we've lost an outstanding not just player but person as well from the group we wish him well um but of course we''ll be competing against him in this game thanks Matthew if you could just use your microphone click them on and off for each question thank you morning Peter sorry can you click your microphone on please for your question it's on yeah this one's working this one working okay yeah yeah can't hear you um before I talk Newcastle can I ask you at Sven everybody seem in football seems to be paying tribute to to the man this morning what are your thoughts please yeah very sad news uh very sadden it's it seemed very sudden um so yeah thoughts to his family um a great football man you look back at his career wow what you know what a what a career he had everywhere he went I think he was loved and I think that's been an outpouring of emotion upon his um passing um but yeah Thoughts with his family I think he had a great affection for Newcastle dney I'm sure he he visited St James's Park on a number of occasions he had he had quite a bond with the club yeah I'm I'm not necessarily aware of that but um an unbelievable football man and I think when you look at the jobs that he had and the pressures that those that comes with those jobs um and the success he had it's a career of um great memories I'm sure for him um and his family and a great time to reflect back to Newcastle not long to go now before the window closes any Joy at all in either keeping players or or bringing players in well yeah at the moment keeping players is a success um as I sit here today um in terms of incomings no work still going on behind the scenes few days left I think everyone's um trying their best to improve the squad and yeah we wait and see what happens with the next few days the mark gay story doesn't seem to go away are you still hopeful or have you given up on Mark I'm not going to comment on individual players and Kieran where are you with Kieran because there was a lot of speculation about Kieran wanting away um he seemed to relish coming on at halim on Sunday um does is that a an encouraging sign for you absolutely I think when you look at his performance on Sunday that was a performance of someone that was focused and and ready to help the team I thought he did in every aspect I thought all the substitutes did um enhanced our performance but it's kieran's experience and his noow on the pitch um seem to have a galvanizing effect on the group so I was very pleased with his impact more talks with him this week then only football talk that there' be there'd be no need for any other talk I think he's um I think he's in a good place and finally can I ask you everybody in this room has been talking about Oasis big fan can't say anything other can I it's uh uh yeah I was actually in the uh in the 90s I I did enjoy their music I bought a lot of the the big albums and yeah it was the blur and Oasis rivalry was a great thing to experience actually and I liked both bands so I'm going to sit right on the fence on that one um but no I enjoyed their music got ticket I might have to speak to a couple of contacts if I can I think my wife's desperate to go thank you thank you hi Eddie uh in terms of Nots Forest tomorrow how big a challenge will they be for new C night yeah big challenge I think um they start the season well and from the games that we've watched deservedly got the the points that they have I think you've seen a slow Evolution under Nuno to very effec effective counterattacking Style with a lot of pace in their team uh good physicality in their team so I think we're prepared for yeah another difficult game it always is the city ground I think we've had a couple of good results recently since going there but very difficult ground great atmosphere and I know both teams will want to progress in an important competition for for both of us so um they'll be confident we' be confident I think it's a set up to be a good game how are you going to counter their threat well I think we have to do slightly better than we did against Bournemouth in a few of the details so um certainly uh we're looking for an improved performance generally but I thought there was a lot of good things in our last performance but some stuff that we still have to work on and and get better at um I think always when you go away from home you're looking at the mentality first and you're looking at how we approach the game and our desire to win that's got to be as strong as it needs to be um you know the group I think did really well in the battling qualities in the first two games but you want to see a bit more technical quality and where would you put your aspiration in terms of carabar Cup in terms of this season whereas it rank in terms of League FA Cup European aspirations yeah I don't rank them um they're all the same they're all um the most important game is the next one um there is no prioritizing in terms of competitions we want to try and win every game thank you Lee Ryder that's one way of putting it I prefer to say tactical switches um yeah I think we have a stronger Squad to pick from currently and and the challenge for us is to keep that throughout the season um as you go through through different campaigns and of course this week we have a three- game week which always reduces extra demands so the strength of the squad is hugely important the ability to make tactical changes during games you see something different um but of course you're riant on the attitude of the players and the quality of the players that come on the pitch to try and make the difference and sometimes that's more difficult um some weeks and other weeks but I think this week we saw all five players contribute um make a difference get us a valuable point and uh keep positive POS feeling around the the club no no young player no no experienced player should take anything for granted because the competition is so high and I think that's what we missed last year we missed that competition for places throughout uh the team at one stage of the season was picking itself that's never healthy so now we have we have that competition it's almost I've got um players competing that are very very level in terms of what they can deliver um and so that's going to push hopefully which we've seen previously with players in other positions to better performances um because the demand to stay in the team is great and you're going to have to be consistent so that's a great thing for for me to have will AAL no there's no guarantee I mean that is a possibility um but uh nothing has decided currently thanks go to Dominic and then Jordan morning Eddie just what's the latest with Callum Wilson after he missed the first two games of the Season yes continuing his um Rehabilitation from injury um yeah me happy with this program he's working very hard as he always does on this this road back um yeah we we miss him I think that's very clear to see because I think he adds a different Dynamic and um will help share the load with other players so he's such an important character as well we miss him when he's not in the squad and around the players so um yeah but fingers crossed we can get him back soon do you expect he'll be back before the international break no no he definitely won't be back before the international break thanks Don Jordan yeah he's doing really well um very pleased with him I think it's always a big step when you come to a club of this size um stature and everything that goes with that it's a a lot for a young player to take on board his first move as well um uh in his career so I think he's handled himself with real class um he's trained very well he's been very level he's been you know very grounded he's focusing on his game and making improvements to his game that he needs to make but he's got the all the qualities that we saw when we signed him he has I'm really looking forward to seeing how his career develops and on Sandro is there a temptation to start him tomorrow and does he need a start sooner rather than later his temptation to to do um anything we want with him um he's done the work I feel confident if we were to start him he would be fit enough to play um so I'll have to make that decision thanks we got to Luke and then C I know it's a difficult time of year but sometimes I do need to push you for a straight answer if you had to choose one of blur and Oasis which one would it be I like your serious tone leading up up to that question um really enjoyed that uh are you serious yeah i' yeah I'd two answers two two two bits to this I think back then it would have been blur but I think now would be Oasis good answer very good isn't it on on to onto transfers did you imagine at the start of the window you would get to this stage um and still be looking to do business or so much business did I expect to get to this stage could you even have imagined it really um it's gone very very late isn't it I think people are a bit Twitchy that there hasn't been the arrivals that people imagined coming in uh I think from my side I think when you go into the window you you sort of have an idea of not not necessarily what's going to happen but you know the parameters you're working in so I think there was every chance this was going to be a difficult one for us um difficult to navigate because because of so many different reasons so now I'm not totally surprised I think the want when you're in my shoes is always to have the squad together as early as possible so you can mold the squad and you can get used to uh personalities that are coming in and you can I have that settled feeling around the squad I think that there's challenges when you bring players in late because it just brings uncertainty and a lack of clarity but we're working through that and we got a few days left um I'm hopeful but there's no guarantees so not confident but hopeful yeah hopeful hopeful thank you thanks L career C and George cin morning Ed a continuation of Luke's theme in terms of putting you on the spot uh Center back or a right winger yeah I can understand I can understand the questions but um for me there's always a level of respect that needs to be shown to your existing members in your squad and I respect every player that we have in every position and I would never disrespect the players so that that's not for me to answer we're trying to strengthen the group we're trying to make the right decisions um and bring the right players in and just on Sandro do you believe he's a better player than the one we last Saw before the ban and if so why uh I'm not sure I think that's that has to be proved I you can make bold statements I want Sandra to come back and first enjoy his football um actually probably first in his everything around his life be settled and in controlled um of that situation and then enjoy his career and enjoy his football and I think if you get a happy player you get a much better player so I've seen enough of Sandro all these months that um I really do back his ability I still love the player um just hopeful that he can um come in in a in a calm way and just add to the team in in his way and is does he have a debt to to you the football club in many ways because of the way you've supported him because of the way you've handled the situation I don't know if de's the right word I I think Sandra will naturally feel that he wants to repay um everyone at Newcastle for the trust that we showed it in when we signed him and I think naturally whenever you go to a new club there's always that want to um show everyone your qualities and give to the team and give to his teammates I'm sure all those things are there for him um we've just handled the situation as we think best and tried to support the human rather than looking at as a footballer first and foremost um and that's what we do to anyone in this situation thank you thanks Craig George you've said more than once that this has been your toughest or most difficult kind of window so far can it still be a good window yeah it can of course um it only takes one one player to make the window um a success or or failure however people view it so we hope certainly with a few days to go as I said we can do something um and if we can then um I always think these things need time you can never make I've seen so many times people go we've had the best window ever and then a year later the team hasn't been successful so time is always the best Judgment of that and sometimes not signing a player is or the wrong player is just as successful um so hopefully I'll make sense um let's see what happens and in terms of that difficulty it's not just about bringing players in it's it's it feels like this has possibly been the first sort of unsettling window for the players you already have is that is that fair comment I think that's fair comment I think that is probably something that may well um exist here um for the foreseeable future because the more successful you are and the better the players do of course they're they're wanted by other clubs and I think that's that's part and parcel of every club's existence and you almost want that problem because that means your players are you know performing at a very very high level so it comes with the territory and um yeah so as I say it's almost two-sided that one okay got to Mark Douglas at the back then across to Louis Taylor um Eddie we kind of forget that the time when um Sandra went out the team there was a little bit of debate about whether he could play with Bruno um has his sort of ABS shown you maybe that that that wasit of a false debate that they can't play together and that you've got a role in mind for him that will come in and SL in SE yeah I think there's real competition for places in that area now which we didn't have last year and I think that's where his absence was really really felt uh during our injury Troubles of last year where we had three sometimes two FIT Center midfielders I think currently we have a bit of a luxury in terms of numbers um with only Louis Miley missing through injury which um will give us really good competition for places which as I said earlier is what we need um I think Sandro's uh game can play uh different roles within our Midfield depend depending on what our tactical structure looks like that versatility is important for us for me you can certainly play with Bruno um there's no there's no Midfield players that we have that can't play with each other I think I'd like to think that's that doesn't exist that that problem but of course we have to prove that on the pitch and and Sandy has to prove that when he comes back and and play as well as he can in terms of his character you've obviously seen the kind of person when he's into some of his lowest moments do you sort of believe that he's a he's a character who's um you know had something his group because you obviously seen yeah I mean he's a he's a very strong guy um he's handled this situation as I've said many times so well um he's shown real strength dignity Integrity um he's been really strong because he's he's been isolated at times it hasn't all um been easy for him he's to really uh I'm sure he's had some really low moments and some lonely moments where the team are playing and sometimes we've when we're having two away games we're we're not been at the training ground for say five six days he's had to train on his own in isolation um and keep his focus and keep his um Spirits high in all those um testing times for him uh so I think we'll get a different player back I think we'll get a stronger player mentally I think we'll get um someone who enjoy his football and probably appreciate every moment because it's been taken away from him for a long period of time so hopefully we'll get the benefits of all of that is there any way that you managed to keep him part of the group when maybe physically hasn't been able to be part of the group if you just sort of is there anything that you've done well we always have different things that we're trying and and we try to make the the injured players and suspended players still part of the team um so I hope Sandra would have felt that team spirit uh still in existence thanks Mark Louise Taylor hi Eddie um now I believe that um Sandro has to make 16 trips to Italy in the next um eight months as part of his suspended ban how awkward logistically is that going to be for you and do you have a say as to when he goes or could he conceivably Miss midweek games yeah I don't envisage him missing games um because of that I think um yeah so I imagine it will be around as it has been previously around training at a time that suits him so no problems regarding that and it's really important that he does go back and how important is he to the evolution of the of the team and its playing style so if you move on eventually from the sort of hard High Press total intensity is can he offer you a gateway to play in a in a different style I think every player naturally adjusts our style slightly to their own to their own game but it's important is around the team team framework I think I don't think there'd be much change in terms of our off the- ball game plan Sandra has to fit into that and he does and he has the ability to do it on the ball he bring his qualities he bring his composure and his ability to play um the way that he does and that would be something that naturally fits our style and this final question there's a sort of um in in kind of medical circles there's a kind of demarcation between like a gambling addict and a problem gambl is the latter is a sort of subclinical thing is is he a genuine addict or is he is it more on the problem side of it I'm not going to go there thanks Louise Dominic sha he how important have Sandro's teammates been in helping him through this last year yeah I think your teammates are so important and the environment and the culture is so important for someone in Sandro's position um he's really well liked by his teammates I will say that and I think I've seen him form really strong uh friendships a really good Social Network people that he can rely on and talk to and uh really good role models for him to be around so I'm really pleased to see him develop those friendships over time and um I think that's so important to your future success within a squad I think you've got to feel part of the fabric you've got to feel involved and certainly he looks at home here now and and you asked about right winger or Central half there can you do both this week uh probably probably not now okay got Mar hard hi Eddie when when was the first time you spoke to Sandro after he was questioned with the ity squad and at that time if you can remember how worried we for him back then that's that's a difficult one um to sort of go back too from my side to to recall every sort of Step of that but I think it just generally it was a real feeling of firstly just being worried about the person genuinely because when you see the media headlines and you know the players facing this moment that that that is not easy for for any person so it was really just to just to help him and protect him and of course we knew the consequences for for us but that was secondary to to him himself and have you two been on a journey together through this 10 10 month period I think uh not necessarily together I think Sandra's been through it with all of us I don't think it's just me it's the St have supported him and he's leaned on different people throughout that time because naturally he's been probably more with the sports science team in certain moments than he has with the as I said with us because we might have been away and playing games and traveling so I think he's leaned on different people throughout that experience definitely isn't just me um the other coaches as I say his teammates have probably been the most important people that would be who he'd be spending the most time with and has it been a learning process for you as a manager and for the club as a whole in how to deal with Sandro's problem yeah well I think education's the key and I think we've tried to um invest time to spread that across the football club whether that's the academy the um first team ladies team you know we do need to spread awareness and uh help everybody uh that might come into um difficulties and sorry last one in terms of that mood 10 months ago what's the contrast like with sand to this week do you see genuine excitement in and can you see that change said many times he's he's not outwardly expressive so it's it's the same I'll no doubt I'll see the same Sandro today he'll be cool calm collected but I'm sure inside he'll be really looking forward to his return and I'm sure he can't wait to wear that shirt again thanks Martin Kieran and then to Simon it's challenging Market as as you've talked about before but do you feel the backing from above to go and get that player you want yeah there's no problem with the the backing and the support never has been it's the uh it's the rules we're trying to abide by and every decision we make has a consequence for the future so we've got to make sure that we're um making wise decisions not leaving ourselves in a vulnerable position again further down the line so that's why these decisions are are complex it's not not as simple as being backed that there's backing there everyone wants the same result um at the football club but it's it's making the the best decisions for the long term Paul Mitch's not at long to sell really coming in during a wind or um how pivotal could he be in helping you guys with his negotiation experience in the final days of the win sorry I missed the name there I'm sorry Paul Mitchell he's come in during a window not at long to settle in how important role will he have in the final days with his negotiating experience absolutely yeah I mean as I said I'm not I'm not doing the deals you know as I said my my role sort of stops on the the choosing of the players and deciding which Avenue to go um Paul and the Paul again doesn't work in isolation he works with a team of people and um you know we're all one team uh working in the for the same outcome um and I'm building a really good relationship with Paul I've been really happy with um how things have been progressing and um yeah so it's not on any one person and we're trying to get the the right end result for the club thanks kieren Simon bird hi Eddie um just another one on Sandro um his agent said he had a gambling illness how do you stop it happening again specifically with Sandro and is there anyone asking him regularly If he if he's bet and if he's over this with it's is such a personal thing with their phones yeah I that's a that's a again a complex question I think I would never go into Sandro's individual um situation because that's his private life and his um situation that he'll continue to work on but yes he's getting the care from the club and he's getting care from the respective people now that's um that will be um a continuous thing for Sandra that will never stop so we have to give him the care and um of course we communication is absolutely vital in this respect and of course now his football career resumes hopefully that is a a stimulus in itself to um to help him really focus on that do yeah that is a very difficult subject really and it's not it's not clear it's not something that you can necessarily um add in that is absolutely covers everything the club are of course aware and will do everything in their powers to try and U make sure we don't end up um signing players that may potentially have this issue but there's no guarantee um and I don't think there's anything really legally you can do um but I know the club are aware of it thank you everyone cheers thank you