Tony Mowbray met the press ahead of the Blackpool game and updated fans on the rehab of Simms, Ballard and Cirkin and the progress of Bennette, Diallo and Michut…
SIMMS UPDATE
“Ellis’ situation won’t be changing over the next week or two, I don’t think. I’m hoping I’ll surprise you all in two or three weeks by saying Ellis is back training and you might see him on the bench, but at the moment, that’s not the case. We have to be cautious with him. If you picture the injury, it’s his big toe, it’s a ligament and it needs some time to settle down.”
BALLARD INJURY UPDATE
"It'll depend on where the team is - I think he could potentially be on the grass before the World Cup break. In my mind, if the team is functioning and the defensive units are doing well and we're not in any rush, my mind would probably be to give him that time to train with the team, to work hard and show me that he needs to play. He's 6 foot 4, fast, good with the ball, he has a lot of qualities that you need. I think he'll be on the grass before the World Cup but it might be during that break that he gets the time he needs on the training pitch."
CIRKIN INJURY UPDATE
“Dennis is ready, He’ll be on the bench, I think. He’s over his injury, I had a good chat with him and together we just felt there was no need to risk it at the weekend, it gave him extra time to train. We think that was the best way to do it. He feels ready, and I expect to see him on the team sheet (tonight).”
BENNETTE ON THE BUS
"Fantastic, wasn't it? Mind, I did feel like saying the legendary players of the past in the North East would all be getting the bus home! I thought it was great - he's a lad who is acclimatising and he's got his dad with him. We were at Watford and his dad hadn't arrange his trip home, he had no idea where Watford was! So he came back on the team coach with us - I think it just shows you the reality of a lad who has come half way around the world from Costa Rica to play for us. He probably needs to pass his driving test but you can see what a good kid he is, a nice kid who is always smiling around the building. He's in a good place, with a World Cup to look forward to. He knows he has to get into this team and he knows it's difficult, because Jack Clarke is in a rich vein of form. We know we can rotate from the bench now, replacing a really good player with a really good player. It allows us to build Jewison into the team and hopefully he can become a really big player for us. I'm bringing these players on because they're talented boys and I see that in training. We spoke at the start about the news from Middlesbrough, I'm a manager and so I need to win games. It's no good for me to give these lads a game but we lose. They're involved because they're showing they can skip past people; they can shoot and get us goals. I watch them against our 'first-team' players in training and they're not out of their depth, and that gives you the confidence to play them."
MOWBRAY ON DIALLO
“He’s just a young boy really, but he’s supremely talented. To see his touch, and see how fast and direct he is, it’s a lovely thing to watch on the training pitch. You see how talented he is, and you can see why he’s at Man United, but you can also understand why he’s out on loan, to develop the core materials you need to be a competitive footballer. He needs to find a better end product. He has all these soft, lovely feet and brilliant skills, but he needs to shoot when he gets in the box. When he sees the goal, he needs to shoot, and he needs to add goals and assists to his name. It’s not enough just to be a lovely footballer who can dribble and go past people, but never have an end product. That’s the message, yet it’s not a simple one. You have to keep repeating it to him all the time – we have to drill into him that we want him to shoot and get in the box. Can he score a scruffy goal, can he get a rebound off the goalie? We have to get him into those positions, but when it all clicks for him, he’s going to be some footballer because he’s got every attribute you want.”
MOWBRAY ON MICHUT
“He (Michut) fell a week behind when he first arrived because he picked up a little injury, and needed some time to adapt to the intensity of the training. He’s catching up. I’m looking hard now to give him an opportunity because I think the supporters will see that he’s more than capable of playing in our first team. He’s very elegant and he’s got two lovely feet. He’s got a great passing range, very confident with the ball, and he will be involved very soon. I can feel a little bit of frustration from him, and I don’t mind that. He will be given an opportunity very soon.”
BLACKPOOL GAFFER MICHAEL APPLETON ON SAFC
“It does make them a little unpredictable, having no strikers. I had a similar sort of problem a couple of seasons ago where we went through a long spell of having no strikers and I had to do a similar thing and it isn’t easy. What I would say is that the players filling in those roles are pretty decent players, they’re good footballers. But it’s a situation where normally with Stewart and Simms up top they’re a little bit more predictable. That’s not to say it’s easy to cope with or deal with, it just means you know what’s coming. Whereas now they’re a little bit more fluid and expansive and can at times be more dangerous. I’ve had some good times there over the last few years, some decent performances and some decent results. The crowd do get behind them when they’re going good and Tony has the group working well. I saw them against Middlesbrough recently and even though they lost the game I thought they were very good on the day. They play good football, but they’ve got one or two injuries themselves, so if we’re in the game and can quieten the crowd down a little bit, it’s certainly going to help us.”
