 Brought to you by DIS keeping companies connected with cloud-based solutions. Come on, City! Stuart, can I start by getting your reaction to the news that's come through in the last hour or so about the agreement with the Premier League and their rescue package for the EFL, specifically £250,000 at the very least for Bradford City Football Club. Your thoughts on that? Yeah, I'm just in off the training ground so I don't know it in depth. I mean, is that a loan or is it a... A grant? A grant, okay. Listen, at this time every penny's needed so, and actually it's good news and yeah, that's a positive... because nobody wants to see... I think we're in an okay position so we've saved a little bit and we're ready to go in January and that does... actually it helps every club and you know, when people are saying a week, two weeks ago that 10 teams will go to the wall if we don't get any help soon, then obviously it'll help them clubs as well and help everyone so obviously it's a positive, yeah. Yeah, and more generally steps closer towards normality I suppose when we see fans back inside grounds last night as well of course only 2000 and proportionately but it just feels like the picture's becoming a little clearer. Well, yeah, I was at Cal-L last night and it seemed to be more than 2000 in ground, that's for sure but I think on two points on that it's a bit normality. You're driving to a game and you can't get a car park spot and there's people, hot dogs are being sold, there's a buzz about the stadium and listen, there's no doubt at our level. I mean I don't think 2000 in Anfield or West Dam is going to create any atmosphere but certainly last night and I would never say we shouldn't let fans in but it certainly is an advantage and a big, big advantage to our supporters in your ground because you know in the first minute of the game the ball's going down the line, there's a nudge, nothing in it, there's a group raw referee, gives a free kick to Cal-L, but to nothing away from Cal-L they were lively, they got the crowd going, the crowd mixed with them and it was a good atmosphere for their point of view, something that I'm envious of if I'm honest. I think just looking back to our game the other night and I watched it back and at the time I thought it was probably a shout for a penalty there but when the boy goes into the back of Clare and I've no doubt if we had funds in the ground it's only natural reaction from the referee, if people shout, you know, referee, when they're 50-50. So there is an advantage certainly but it's obviously a positive, it can be a level playing field for all clubs, especially our level because 2000 and a bit over in Cal-L still had a good little atmosphere. I hear they were cheering backpassers to the goalkeeper and the like in that game, I mean just what was it like for you as an on-viewer to have that atmosphere around you? Yeah well I was stuck right in the corner in the main stand with a lot of supporters round and trying to do me notes and stuff like that but yeah it was a feeling of being at a proper game and you know but there's no doubt you know the players got a huge lift from it. Having said that as I said you know Cal-L were very good from the first minute and got the crowd lifted as well. If they had been flat maybe the crowd had been flat but it worked you know you get a corner or a free cake or a long throw in which they've got then the crowd are right behind them they get a good applause coming off, a good applause back on a pitch. It certainly makes a difference to you definitely. He used the word envy so I was going to ask you how you feel as a manager of a football club who is currently still in tier three until that is decided otherwise. Is it an overwhelming feeling of envy really that you can't have that at valet parade? Yeah, yeah of course it is yeah. I mean again in our what's the name it holds 25,000 but even a thousand just a little bit of noise and a bit of you know if you get a corner or a clap or whatever it may be and get behind the lads that are out there would you know but yeah it's good in the main naturally that listen over watching Cambridge you know if it was the owner this morning saying it's costing them money to open up last night they've got to have double the stewards for half the people the people that come in are already season ticket holders so they're actually losing money but you know every football club I'm sure would take that little bit of a hit to get fans back into the stadium naturally just to give them a help and as I said last night I mean said that Cambridge has got beat home to Mansfield so it's not giving me to get fans back in you start winning games but from my experience last night yeah it certainly helped Carl Isle and you know the money to the victory and you know should have won by a lot more to be honest. So having been at the game then what did you make of Carl Isle as a team and in particularly in their own performance against Salford? Yeah well they were up, Kenny went up on Sunday I watched the game in the cup against Doncaster that's what I did in the top six and deservedly showed we've got a lot of energy vibrancy playing with confidence yeah so they were good there's no doubt about that but you know it's our we just concentrate on ourselves on Saturday mate I put the best most competitive team we can out on the park but yeah they're carrying threats and ex-players Amari Patrick was very good, Danny Devine played last night and did a steady job Joe Rather came on last week, Callum Guy was playing a lot of energy there so we've got a few ex-city players in the round so no doubt want to come down and do well here When you say you want to set up competitively how are you numbers wise is the situation any better at all than it was previously? Just exactly same, same group that we had the other night same squad, we've only had seven training today the rest of the boys we've got to be careful even in training you know they take any more knocks but the lads who played on Tuesday had a recovery, a strength session so we had seven of the boys out training today but that's you know that's what it is I mean the one thing there's no more injuries from the weekend or the other game so that's a positive but no do return as yet unfortunately Certainly a positive for Bryce I imagine because there was a worry wasn't there at first Yeah, yeah he's okay, the little knocky it was mainly you know we've got a steady aim in with his hamstring same with Cookie, with his injury but we've just had the physios in there that's Cookie now at 16-70, Bryce is up although Bryce does do a lot of high intensity running you know it'll be hopefully going into the game that we don't have to, we haven't got a set of stall out knowing Bryce has to come off after an hour of Cookie because you bring in you know two lads who are influential to your team and you know when you're having to do that is challenging as well especially if they're both playing well but as I said the experience we've had with Ellie, with Reece Stone and with Evo, with other people we've got to stick to the signs You gave us a flicker of optimism after Tuesday's game when asked about Lee Novak and the potential of he may be being able to get it on the bench, what are your thoughts now over a couple more days to reflect on that situation? Again, probably too much of a gamble if we're honest for 20 minutes and as much as I say to the physio it will only be 20 minutes, well then you get injury time 25 minutes, whatever you sat there and you've got Novak on your bench and you want him to get him on but if we're honest he's been out, I don't know, a number of weeks six weeks and he's not done a full weeks training he's done one bit of training today so it is probably too big a gamble if I'm honest just for the sake of 20 minutes as much as I would deal with Eden because even in his training session today he was quality, he leads the line well and he looks after the ball and he can finish but the selfish part of me would say I want him on bench but realistically next week without a game on the Tuesday I'm just looking at the board gives us a week where he can train fully I think Chris the physio was telling me Brendan Rogers for example and there's a lot of managers don't allow any players to come back unless they've had at least Tuesday, Thursday, Friday training under the belt and that's when they've only been out 10 days so Novak has been out a number of weeks so unfortunately and against what I'd like to do but I totally get it I think we'll leave him and let him have another good training session tomorrow and over the weekend and then join him fully next week but he's in, he's champion at the bit and he's ready to go but he's still well ahead of what his scam results said so that's another, if he was on the level with it it would be maybe more but he's a few weeks ahead of what the level of the scam reported so and again I keep saying we've got experience of what happened at the Lancery and Zellie so we just got to stay mindful of that How much are you battling your own instincts with all these injuries at the moment particularly with Lee? Yeah, of course I'm sure you're fed up asking the same questions which you have to do, I get it I'm fed up with giving the same answers about the injuries we've still got seven out yeah, it can be frustrating, it's challenging but hopefully I'm not at a stage on Saturday where I'm knowing I've got to bring people off after an hour so that's a little bit more helpful Let's talk about Tuesday night in isolation Yes okay, a defeat but a positive performance in the main until the second half and the guy seemed to tire a little bit I think he said after the game as well but can you, do you take belief from what you saw in the main, the first half in particular the performance that the lads put in? Yeah, undoubtedly, obviously I've watched it a couple of times again it was probably no different to what I imagined with the better team first half and again, they're a good strong side who are on a good run so it was always going to be a challenging game but the goals, when we score, they have a flowy straight I'm not even a flowy, they have a chance to hit the bar straight after that but other than that we've been really solid as I say, I think the penalty's 50-50 on Clayton didn't really say much at the time but when I watch it back, it certainly goes in back of him and I think with the crowd behind us at that time we would have got it but Ben should score, Poddy said they should score so we're definitely about the same first half and then for them to get a goal like they did with the deflection I mean, as I said before, the other night it's a tame shot that will go into Richard's hands but it really gives them a lift and hurt us but what has been happening and we keep emphasising the players is straight after that, the score on half-time and with the two minutes injury time they could have scored again you know, Richard made a good save and then granted to the players they get a great blocking but we could have been going in, should have been going in 1 now we could have been 2-1 down so we come out second half and we were a little bit, as I said before a little bit stooped by it they started better but it was a case of we were just going to get some bodies on us we were tiring to take a point and be happy for a point but unfortunately in that space of time the long throw came in and they did us on it so it was a real cruel one to take again watching the whole game certainly not a result we deserved spirit, endeavour second half, maybe through a little bit not confidence we're certainly not brimming with confidence with the run we've had but a little bit of the changes we made etc etc but we need to, the first half performance was very strong Can you take a lot away from that and can you use that to communicate with the players and give them something to build upon, build a base? Yeah, but it's about consistency because I go back to, we go down we play well against Exeter and then putting a really poor performance at Salford and then we go and put in a real good shift, everybody together at Orient but don't get anything from it and then go and put in a real dispoint against Oldham so we need a little bit more consistency we need players playing at the best a little bit more more often to get us some points and get us up and going but we've got a little bit more time on training to work through what we want to do and we'll be ready we'll be organised and we'll we'll be ready to go we've got to keep believing there's a win just round the corner You mentioned the result for Mansfield at Cambridge last night, a surprise result maybe, given the context of the table what it means is that you go down to 20 seconds now I know you said on Tuesday you're not looking at the table how hard is it for you as a manager and for the players to not get drawn in by what's happening in the table yeah, of course I know we're in the lower end bottom ends of it, of course but as I said the other night we can't do anything where we are at the minute we've obviously got a look to improve that area as soon as we can but the league doesn't finish on Saturday we've got 30 odd games and it's not being blaze here we need to start picking up points naturally but where we are at this moment in time can't affect the confidence and the nature of how we go about our business of course we're all hugely, hugely disappointed to be where we are in the table we want more points, we want to start climbing up and a couple of wins will help with that but if it takes a month, two months, whatever it takes we will get there but naturally, sooner that we can do that and start getting a victory and build a little bit of confidence get players back in the group and start looking up the table rather than worrying about where we are but we are in a position at this moment in time where it's concerning for everybody naturally but as I said, the league table the league doesn't finish on Saturday it's not as last game we've got a lot of points to play for and as I said before, in the coming weeks months will be stronger and hopefully that will show in performances and certainly in points when you look at results like that Stuart, do you think that you do a result like that yourself the way that the football gods work at times it'd be nice, but listen you don't get anything given, you've got I'm sure Mansoul went down there and worked extremely hard and as we did at Orient as we have done in a lot of games and maybe not got just rewards we've got, again, a look at the game the other day the deflected goal, the possibly good call for a penalty which we haven't got but tight, tight things we just need them little tight decisions or tight little bits of luck to go our way but you make your own luck as you say work hard which we will be doing we'll be organised we'll be, you know having total commitment and that's what we need to see and we need to keep going it's difficult when as an individual you've got to make sure you just go out and focus want to be a good team mate, as we always say but first and foremost make sure your performance is above us 5 out of 6 let's try to get 7 out of 10s and let's get more of us playing like that which will give us more opportunity to get a result go well on Stuart go on Saturday cheers, thank you do you say like the players looked a bit tired the other night do you think some of that is because they had conceded you then start to feel the tiredness whereas if you're winning you probably wouldn't have noticed it yeah, good point, mentality is a big thing you know, you don't see anybody winning and I said that I want to look back at the game I've got to also look at the opposition as I said before I've taken a lot of time I've taken a lot of time the opposition as I said before I've taken they've had a really good start, a strong side good mentality about them they get the goal just for our time and they come out and they were a lot better than they were first half but I think that was because we nullified them and we played well and as the game goes and the game goes we didn't start great and the balance of the game was ebbing in their favour and unfortunately they get that goal but if we'd have come off with a 1-0 it would have been a real sterling effort but a little bit of everything a little bit of lads but I think mentally as much as physically sometimes it can affect you as you say as well, 30 games still left I suppose for fans it's a strange thing that we're very early at Christmas which is traditionally when the league sorts itself out it was such a short point into the league this season yeah, well I'm just looking now we've got seven games in December so lots of natural points to play for there but yeah we've just got to each game put the best performance in my can start getting a few points and start moving up the table Cheers, good luck on Saturday Cheers, thank you You were saying obviously about not getting too fixated with the table as such obviously some of the younger players is it a case of telling them not to you know, young lads you're looking at Twitter, you're looking at Facebook blah blah blah, you see the league table thrown down it's on sky Yeah, obviously it's not nice but it's not something I'm going to speak to I'm going to draw attention to it we've just got to focus on the next game the next chance to win three points young or old you know, sometimes youngsters play with no fear and maybe just go out and don't think about it but it's not an area the table we would have hoped to have been naturally but it's where we are and we can only change that by putting in strong performances from now on but yeah, I would suggest anybody you know, regarding the social media it's not going to be much positive at this moment in time, understandably of course but hopefully we can spin that round in the next few months You see how the results are where you think that's not done us any favour and you've got to balance it while the fact as you say you've got 32 games left it's crazy how much the season is still to go isn't it? Yeah, there is and as I say, we look to be strengthening in the coming weeks, coming months but it's alright you're saying that, we've got to get on with it now we've got to scrap and fight which they did the other night for every ball, every point every goal, everything and once you can get a result and maybe a couple together, bit of confidence grows but we need consistent performances to get that and that's what we need we need on Saturday, as I said, against an informed kind of outside but we've got to go out and play in a positive manner like we always try to do at home With the performance the other night there's a lot of encouragement ultimately frustrating to come away empty handed, does it need much lifting of the group or they're pretty bright today considering it was a real kick in the teeth, wasn't it? Yeah, I think they know they can't do with long faces and do them in gloom because that's a negative vibe and a negative mentality and I don't expect them to come in skipping and jumping and doing cartwheels but what's gone is gone yeah, it was a big kick in the guts, as was Orient the week before with the effort that they put in but it's they keep going to a mentality the players can't change it I can't change what happened the other night we were a little bit unfortunate the deflection, etc but we've got to go full steam ahead on Saturday and just give everything you've got and when you come off the park, lucky teammate in the eye and say I might have not been great on a ball but I've got on top of my opponent whatever it may be You were saying earlier about Carlisle, the number of familiar faces in that line-up, it's good to see the likes of Danny Devine and Amari players who probably didn't quite well sort of had chances here but have a really regular run and they've obviously got an opportunity elsewhere Danny's not played much this season I think it was his first game of the night for a long time but he's been in and around it and he put in his sound performance Little Joe Ryler obviously was injured when I was here and he understood Amari was a one that when we brought him in and he showed glimpses and he's certainly he's filled out now, we knew he was quick but he's playing with a lot of confidence and you can see that in his play and he's doing well and obviously Callum Guy gives him what he gives him bundle of energy, gets around the park real you know, terrier for them so yeah, I'm sure they'll all want to come back and do well as you always do when you go back to your old club Andine Furman as well and Dino I was just leaving as Dino was coming on actually last night, watching him in the warm up and he still does everything he's a good professional he's in the mid 30s now he's been about and been back over at South Africa but everything he does you can tell he doesn't mess about 15 minutes in the warm up, everything he was doing spot on, encouraging the other young ones and as I say, good professionals in your dressing room, when you're not even playing and worth the work worth in gold