Every word from Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch's pre-Manchester City press conference

“Actually I think we can take positives from last year, I think we played actually quite well, we gave up two set piece goals and then went down 2-0 and then gave up two late goals. Now, it wasn’t good enough and I think we’ve progressed a lot since then and we believe that we can get more from it now, really. When we had to play the three giants in a row last year, I think it was just about survival. I think now it’s more about can we be better on the day and we know that against some of these opponents that we have been able to manage that. So really huge respect for Man City and the way they play and the quality they have and the mentality they have. But we also saw right before the break that Brentford at Man City on the day could do the things that they wanted and managed to get the points so that will be our focus.”

“He was on the pitch today and he should be in training as well this week.”

“Rodrigo was scheduled to play in the match up until the afternoon of the match and then we just felt like he was feeling a little bit of a tightness in his hamstring so we decided to hold him out.”

“When he got sick I think it disrupted a little bit his return into training but we expect that he will be back in training as well and then it will be can we get him up to speed for the Man City match but we expect he will be back in training.”

“No, I think we have had some discussions and I think both our goalkeepers have performed well. Obviously Kris had an illness as well so wasn’t in Spain. Joel I think has performed really well and been a great addition to what we have done here. We haven’t made that decision yet but I think both will be ready if needs so.”

“I think, again, they’ll be working with some different ideas of how to put together the whole package so that we can add to the team the way we need to and we’ve discussed this often. It’s already been incredibly active. With some of the goals, I think everyone has had goals that maybe you can get players in ahead of time so that you can have them even before January 1. Let’s see how things progress.”

“No, In general I think there’s different strategies. I think Pep has said over the years he likes18 senior players because more than that and it gets difficult to manage rotation and then he introduces young players. I have been some places where they have said f you’re playing in Europe that the number should be 21. I’ve been places where they say 20. We’re not so structured that way and we have a lot of sort of moving pieces at different times and we try to just look at what’s the best situation for every individual and then how it fits within the group that that we’re trying to push for for any given time period. I’ve been really, for me, with the work that we’ve done here, I’ve been really happy and satisfied with the commitment from every player to try to get the most out of every day and that’s ultimately more my job than telling we need this transfer, this transfer, this transfer.”

“Maybe it’s fair to say that he is the best at managing the types of players that he manages. He gets usually some of the top talent in the world and he has over his career and then his ability to form a team around and a football concept around having those quality players maybe makes him among the best, or the best. I think at one point he said something about Marcelo and if he coached Marcelo’s team and vice versa and that’s the beauty of our sport is we all have our own ideas of how to play the game and then it’s about matching and finding the right player pool to meet the standards of the way you want to play the game and so that part that Man City, I think, has been over the years, has been managed really well. And that’s ultimately you know, the goal of what we’re doing here, transfer window on transfer window to continue to add to our team with the kinds of players that we think can can fit to what we’re trying to achieve tactically and then what our goals are long term in terms of success.”

“I think it has the potential to burn some players out. I’ve seen Man City have brought they players back relatively quickly and there is a sort of standard in our business that after these big national team tournaments that players need three weeks. We even only provided ten days. We were fuly aware with the season coming around so quickly that it was important to get them back. But the physical and mental demands of a big tournament like that are very high and so I think it’s really important that we have appreciation for what these young men go through in these situations and what the pressure of representating a country in big tournaments like this is like. For us, we had three players and we tried to use the break again to bolster our fitness,and also create clarity in our tactics and then make sure we’re refreshed in a way where when we get back into it and it’s coming quick and the games come fast that we are going to be at our best.”