Leeds United boss Sam Allardyce pre-West Ham press conference every word on Patrick Bamford, police call, Georginio Rutter assessment, new injury and survival prospects
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Leeds picked up their first point under new boss Allardyce in last weekend’s hosting of highflying Newcastle United which ended in a 2-2 draw. But time is running out for the relegation-threatened Whites who remain third-bottom and still a point adrift of safety with just two games left.
Leeds are still one point behind fourth-bottom Everton and three adrift of fifth-bottom Nottingham Forest who both play before Leeds on Saturday afternoon and evening respectively. Everton visit Wolves in a 3pm kick-off before Forest take on Arsenal at the City Ground at 5.30pm. Leeds will then lock horns with the Irons the following day in a 1.30pm start at the London Stadium.
Ahead of the game, Allardyce spoke to the media at 9am from Thorp Arch on Friday morning and here is a full transcribe of everything that was said by United’s 68-year-old boss.
West Ham v Leeds United: Sam Allardyce press conference every word
Key Events
- 9am press conference
Good morning
Sam Allardyce will be with us from 9am, all the news to follow here. How is Liam Cooper? Any other injuries? And what about Patrick Bamford’s mindset? What is the Firpo plan and, ultimately, how does Sam now see Leeds United’s chances of producing another great escape. Plenty to cover.
A draw against Newcastle last week. What did that performance tell you about where your team are at in terms of how you want them playing?
“There was obviously three disappointing factors in three different situations where we stopped ourselves winning three points and that was the penalty miss and two penalties given away. When we contained a Newcastle side that is third in the league to so few opportunities and so few chances, we really did kick ourselves in the guts by gifting them those penalties. And I think that for me, it was a bitter pill to swallow the next day when we looked at the situation and what we’d done and how much we got from the brink of a crucial three points with only two games left after this one. I’d have said we were probably 60%, 65% were we would stay up if we won that game and now we’ve got to go and win at West Ham where it wouldn’t have been essential to win at West Ham I don’t think if we would have won last week. I think a point would have been another great achievement, trying to win but making sure we didn’t lose and then going into the last game. So over that disappointment, just cut out those mistakes to the players. We’ve all got to remember that time is running out and errors will be punished in the Premier League and we have to limit those errors. Performance to stay the same and commitment to stay the same. And hopefully we can perform at a higher level to try and win the match.”
You are going there looking to try and win, depending on other results on Saturday. If they go against you, you’re going to have to win. Have your players got what it takes to cope with that pressure?
“Well, that’s a great question. I think that it is a difficult situation. If you find that the teams down there on the Saturday have picked up three points and it’s almost a near certainty that you have to get three points to stay in the race. So when it comes around and what the situation is when we get to Sunday afternoon, we have to deal with it, we have to accept it and we have to make it spur on to the best performance we can give, no matter what goes on on Saturday. We have to deliver a three point scenario at West Ham to try and save our Premier League status and handling the pressure that comes with that is a big question of can you? They certainly handled that pressure last week, apart from course, as I said before, apart from the silly errors we gave away and the penalties but I’m pleased we’ve had the reaction we’ve had. When you consider that Newcastle just have just battered Brighton 4-1, again gives an indicator of where we’ve come in a short period of time. I suppose you could say when Manchester City battered Real Madrid and you look at when played there and what we did to try and stay in the game. It shows some good indicators without any points on the board of course or without three points. But I think we’re moving in the right direction and the players’ confidence should be a little better and deliver that performance to try and win but the crucial factor will be obviously trying to try to obtain our first clean sheet.”
On Bamford, have you had conversations with him this week and how is his mindset?
“He’s been okay, obviously extremely upset about the situation and it’s something that is a very, very, very bad taste indeed. I’d like the police to do a lot more but it appears that when it becomes social media, they rule the world and can say and do what they want unfortunately which is why the world’s in such a big mess isn’t it? But he’s handled it pretty well. I think the club gave him as much support as he needed, particularly security wise. And it wasn’t just about him, it was about his family. The best way is to go out the pitch on on Sunday, perform to his highest level, try and score and it would be even greater if he went and scored the winner. So hopefully it’s not affected or won’t affect his performance.”
In terms of Sunday’s game, your former club. What do you make to the job that David Moyes has done in getting them to a European final and do you hope that that may be factored into his team selection on Sunday?
“Well, we probably can normally guess the team that’s going to be picked on the Sunday when we play them but it’s very difficult to pick this one because, obviously, looking at Brentford last week when they played he made nine changes and of course our preparation is to try as best we can to predict the team and how West Ham play and do a little bit of practice against that both offensively and defensively. But we won’t really know what team he is going to pick until we get the team sheet. Well, it’s not a team sheet anymore. Until we get the email on our laptops, on our phones to find out what team he has actually picked and then we might need to have a little chat with the players before they go out. But I think they will basically, even though he might change the team, probably play the same way as he normally does. So we could practice that a little bit today and tomorrow before we travel to West Ham. But I’m pleased for him, I’ve known him many years, many years. I brought him into or recommended Preston sign him many years ago and he came down from Scotland and he’s had a fantastic career. So I’m glad to see that he’s brought so much to West Ham after having a difficult season in the league. It will be good him but hopefully when we have a drink after, it will be us that’s got three points and not him!”
With regards to West Ham, what was the best possible result for you for them last night?
“Oh winning, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. That means that they’ve got a final to think about haven’t they? Subconsciously, you’ll never know whether that may affect the players in terms of when they go out and play. They’ll go out and play and try their best, subconsciously they won’t want to get injured or suspended or I don’t know whether suspensions work in Europe as well as domestically. I’m not sure about that. But certainly one would have a worry that I wouldn’t want to miss a final. So they might be a little more tentative. Who knows? But my job is about my team playing to the best they possibly can play. And whatever team we face against West Ham that that’s good enough to try and win the game.”
You have experience of this at Bolton - being in Europe and then having either a win or a loss after. So you will know what areas to exploit. What might they be?
“Well, it depends. It’s how many players he picks that didn’t play is the first thing we have to consider. He made nine changes against Brentford, whether he makes similar changes or some changes but not quite as many? We’d have to consider that so those players will be fit and raring to go if they hadn’t had an opportunity to play on Thursday night. But the rest, if they had played on Thursday night, it doesn’t happen until the last 20 minutes before fatigue kicks in so stay in the game as long as we can. Try and get in front in the game as quick as you can. And then, like I said, if we get that first clean sheet up, I think we have a great opportunity of winning.”
“There’s only Dallas, Adams, Sinisterra. Cooper is back in training and Roca has got a patellar tendon injury so not too bad injury front.”
Firpo is suspended, what are your considerations there?
“We’ve been talking about that now in terms of who do we fit into that position or do we perhaps change the system to a different way of playing? So we’ve got to look at what West Ham did last night and last week at Brentford and then we’ve got to look at what players we’ve got available and pick a system to suit our team that’s available and/or compete against West Ham.”