 Morning Gary. Morning. Great to see you. We'll start with the big news. There's an alleged takeover of Bournemouth. What can you tell us? Nothing. Nothing at all. Obviously I'm not involved in any sort of discussions like that. So yeah, been hard at work over the other side on the grass and takeovers and discussions of that level were obviously a long way from my mind and what I'm focused on at the moment, which is Newcastle. It's going to be a big test. Clearly that could play into your hands though. If the ownership, the board are focusing on a new owner, that would leave you to focus on the football. Their focus isn't going to be about finding a new manager. It's going to be about sorting out that situation. So therefore you could be left to just carry on the good work that you're doing. Yeah, I'm not sure. I haven't considered anything around takeovers, discussions upstairs, my position, whatever that is it is. I know it's going to be boring for you guys, but I'm just fully focused. Literally every minute of my day is taken up by how we go about Newcastle for the last, since I heard the Brighton game was off. My wife and kids will tell you every minute of my day so far since that is Newcastle, weaver on the laptop, on the grass with the lads. Pure focus on how we go there, have an impact on the game and come away with a positive result again. Clearly last week's events with regards to the Queen would have been sad for everyone connected, but for you it was an opportunity to just sort of take stock of the situation because you were chucked in quite quickly to the Wolves game, you had no time to prepare for the Forrest game. Has this last 10 days or so been an opportunity for you to just breathe and assess things and actually do a little bit of work with the team without having a match so quick? Yeah, I think obviously extremely sad news and I think that the game being off was from a coaching and a pure football perspective to have it called off on the Friday is obviously we've done all the work for Brighton so we wasn't thinking Newcastle, we wasn't thinking longer term at that point, so it didn't really give us any more time to prepare for the Newcastle game because we were fully preparing for the Brighton one. But yeah, we've done some real good work, lads have been brilliant again all for the whole period. We replaced the Brighton game with a training session, they trained well and then as I said, switched focus fully to Newcastle, making sure the boys are fit, sharp in a good place. So yeah, I'm pleased with the work we've got into them as I was last week for the Brighton game, pleased with what they've done, feel like they're ready and we go up there looking to cause Newcastle some problems. Newcastle been positive this season, probably haven't won as many games as they would have liked but they've kept three clean sheets. This will be the first time that Eddie Howe has managed to side against Bournemouth. You will be familiar with Eddie because he joined Portsmouth while you were there as a youngster, although you didn't play together a great deal because of his injury. What do you remember about him and the character he was and just that environment from those early Pompey days when you were younger? Yeah, I just remember him going for a real tough time there. Everyone was trying to support him and help him at that moment because as you say, his injury problems there were really tough for him at a very young age as well. But yeah, he showed real resilience and was always keen to work and I think you see that in the successes he's had since those days with his managerial career. Yeah, and they're a very good side of every game. I've watched of them, they've been front foot, aggressive, cause teams problems, probably should have more points than they've got so far. I expect them to be very high up the league this year. I would expect them to be sort of top 8, top 10 by the end of the season. They're sort of aggressive, play forward a lot, ask you big questions. So yeah, it'll be a tough game for sure. Have yours and Eddie's past crossed over the last few years. Is he a coach, a manager, someone that you perhaps looked up to over the last nine years where you've been developing yourself as a coach? Of course, any young coach that has been as successful as Eddie has, you always look when that's the sort of industry you want to go into, you always look and think that he's doing a great job. How's he going about that? What are they doing? And obviously I know Richard Hughes fairly well, who knows Eddie. So a couple of times we bump into each other, try and pick his brains or what. So yeah, probably a while ago now, but yeah, our past have crossed a few times and not surprised that he's still doing very well. You mentioned how they've been a bit unlucky points-wise new cast. They gave Manchester City a great game, they've had a couple of VARs and things, but what has been key to them giving the likes of Liverpool City the best team such tough games? I think they have a real athleticism about them, across the team and that they can be very aggressive with their very front foot, they press, they make it difficult for you. They've signed good players, they're well organised, I think they're just a real good outfit I think. They probably should have won the palace game. As you say, the Manchester City game was a strange one, but a fantastic performance against the top side. They felt unlucky at Liverpool probably. So yeah, they're a good side, mainly they're very very physical, they've got good pace, good legs, midfield, top line, yeah they're a good side. So they're last big questions of everyone that goes there I'm sure. Bournemouth's last two away games have been a bit contrasty. How does a team bounce back so well after the disappointment at Liverpool and then having fallen to and behind that forest? What does that say about what you've got in the squad? Yeah, I've spoke about the qualities of the squad a lot, but also you have no choice. I mean after you lose, if you lose a game, whether it's 9-0 to Liverpool or whether it's 1-0 home to somebody else, I mean you have to respond, you have no choice. So whatever happens the weekend before we put to the side, we obviously review it, this is where things went right, it's where things went wrong and we get back to work. So yeah, the boys responded fantastically well, but I expected them to, even at 9-0 Forest 2-0 down at half-time, I expected them to and yeah that's the same again this weekend, I fully expect and a full belief in what they're going to show me on Saturday. And all Premier League players are very talented, that's a given, but we've seen many players, many teams over the years crumble having had lesser disappointments really and I just wonder, having gone 2-0 down at Forest, if you ask any player they'll always say oh there's a real good spirit in the dressing room, we're all together and it's special, the best atmosphere I've ever worked in, but you've been in a lot of dressing rooms, is the one here, is it rare, is it special, is it different? Yeah, I think for any team to have any success they have a real togetherness and that doesn't mean that you will get on but you have a real drive together to succeed something, to achieve something rather and I think last year when in promotion out of the championship it's tough, it's a long hard season, you go through real tough moments and they came through all those scrapes towards the end of the season when people were maybe asking questions about asking it being called, the boys go to Huddersfield and put on an incredible display against the team chasing us down, Nottingham Forest come here chasing us down full of momentum, they put in one of the best displays I've seen in their high pressure situation so yeah maybe because I'm close to them I just come to expect it from them because that's how they are, they're an incredible group and will we suffer tough moments in this league, I'm sure we will, as you said the big quality all over it so newly promoted we'll suffer some tough spells in games or some tough games but I fully expect them and believe they'll respond in the right way every time. And with you you mentioned your family don't see you much anymore and whatever but having done this job for a couple of weeks now have you noticed that there's any great difference between Gary O'Neill the first team coach and Gary O'Neill the caretaker manager? Yeah I mean you have to do loads more, it's your responsibility now, how everything looks on a Saturday is down to you and I enjoy that, I am enjoying it I think there is obviously pressures that come with it but yeah I've enjoyed it so far and hopefully when you ask me again at five o'clock on Saturday I'll still be enjoying it. You've got to make yourself more unpopular though haven't you, now you're the decision maker you're upsetting players? Yeah well yeah I don't really know I mean I enjoy making the decisions I think as I said we've got a good group they know we're in it together they know that all decisions I make all decisions they make are always for the best of the group so yeah we go to Newcastle which is a real tough challenge but we go there together and we see what we can achieve. Good luck Gary thanks mate. Good morning Gary can I just ask you for an injury role called ahead of the Newcastle game and maybe an update on David Brooks after his run out for the development squad? Yeah so we're in a similar place so game comes too soon for Joe Rothwell, Ben Pearson they'll still be missing. David Brooks suffered a slight setback in the development game that he played just a slight awareness in his hamstrings pain in his hamstring which is obviously initially disappointing for him but not unusual for any player that's been off the grass for that long with long-term injury or whatever it may be when they come back there's always a spell where they need to get their body used to being back on the grass every day. You see I've seen it so many times if players I've played would have maybe come back from a crucial injury and everyone's excited to see them back but they have to adapt again to the stresses of playing football every day so yeah not huge surprise although disappointing especially for Brooksy but yeah we were never planning to rush him back anyway it was always David's best interests so yeah we'll see how he recovers from that. Is junior Stanislaus getting closer to inclusion in the squad as well? Yeah junior's trained well he's been on the grass for us for a good few days now maybe from late last week so good to have junior back obviously has big quality that can help us no doubt. Just talking about Eddie Howe I think you only played with him for nine minutes in that Nottingham Forest game at the first day of the 2002-3 season. I can't remember that one. That's when he sustained that serious knee injury that almost robbed him of the career that he would have craved in the championship and the Premier League and it's so good that he's gone on to do that in management so can you remember anything about his early days? I remember when I remember him in training being a really good player I mean when he'd obviously arrived and as you do when a new player arrives you have everyone's eyes around them or what's this guy like what's he going to bring and he looked comfortable was obviously good on the ball and then suffered as you say some it's a real tough tough period at Portsmouth and what I remember from it was how how well he sort of he responded in those difficult moments and I suppose that's one of the big keys to to where he's to where he is now.