Tom Cleverley spoke to watfordfc.com ahead of the Hornets' Sky Bet Championship visit to Southampton on Saturday (April 13, 3pm KO).
Read what the Interim Head Coach had to say below...
On the quick turnaround after Ipswich on Wednesday:
Yeah it’s difficult. But I’ve said before we find solutions rather than excuses.
We have a day less rest than them [Southampton], but we have a good depth in our squad, and that might have to be utilised tomorrow.
On the challenge Southampton pose:
You have to be very good out of possession and very disciplined.
They are the best possession team in the league and also they’re very good at pressing teams as well so you have to be really efficient with everything you do with concentration levels at an absolute maximum, for 95 minutes or 100 minutes.
But they do give you a chance. We go there with a clear gameplan to win the game, not to just not get beat but to win the game. We have the belief we can do that.
On looking to beat Southampton for the first time this season at the fourth attempt:
I’ve not thought about it that way to be honest. I think we just focus on the next game, rather than what’s happened in the past, and how to win that game.
So it’s something I’ve not focused on at all. We’ve watched footage from those games when we’ve played them earlier on in the season, but we don’t take any less or any extra motivation from those results.
On the run of games against high-flying sides since becoming Interim Head Coach:
Yeah, it’s been brilliant. With respect to every coach in the league, [Kieran] McKenna, [Daniel] Farke, [Carlos] Corberán and [Russell] Martin are four outside of the Premier League who have really bright futures and are already top coaches now.
It’s a really nice challenge but we know that in this league the 46 games are just as difficult as each other.
So just because we’re playing the bigger teams, we shouldn’t take the other clubs any more lightly because this league poses different challenges and different threats, and every game’s a massive challenge.
On team news after Ipswich:
Nothing new to report. Ken [Sema] and Jeremy [Ngakia] are getting closer and closer which is good news for everyone, and the plan is to have them in contention for next weekend.
On team selection:
It’s good problems for a coach to have. I think this is the most difficult team selection I’ve had to make since I’ve been in the job.
We’ve got one more training session now to finalise our plan and then knuckle down on a first 11 for tomorrow.
On young Head Coaches:
Just like with players, if you’re good enough you’re old enough and I see that in the coaching world as well.
I really respect the journeys [Kieran] McKenna and Russell Martin have been on to get to where they are, they are really, really top coaches.
Russell’s style of play [at Southampton], he’s done it at Swansea, he’s done it at MK Dons, he’s a very well-respected coach. I do feel like I’m ready for this role and I feel at home in it.
On young players:
I won’t be giving any charity debuts out. If someone plays in my team, they deserve it.
We’ve had people close, the way Jack Grieves has been training he probably deserves more minutes than he’s getting. He’s been fantastic in the training sessions.
[Zavier] Massiah-Edwards was on the bench. But I won’t be giving out debuts as a charity, they have to be earnt and deserved.
Going back to my point before, if these lads are good enough you’re old enough.
On restoring pride and belief:
It was one of the things I looked at when I came in.
It was a team which you could maybe say was winding down or lacking motivation, sitting in mid-table, no fear of going down, no chance of going up.
First of all I think personal pride plays a big part. The work me and my staff have done has been positive, I think it helps that I was a good team-mate to 90 per cent of these lads, I was very respectful, I tried doing the best for the team always.
That plays a part as you can see the lads are working for me. I’m very appreciative of that and there’s a lot of hard work going in behind the scenes on the training pitch.
Ultimately, I think personal pride takes over at the end and these lads have shown plenty of that.
