The pair of summer signings were given their full debuts against Stoke City and showed glimpses of exciting things to come in old gold. Although acknowledging Silva could have finished his chances better, the head coach was pleased with what he saw from the pair of youngsters.
On a game of few chances
“First-half I think we should produce more. We had a lot of the ball, but didn’t quite break the lines of Stoke.
“The second-half better, I think we started better, created more, pressed better, but at the point we conceded a goal, we created a couple of chances, but the boys worked hard. A lot of things to improve on the squad and team.”
On Silva and Vitinha’s performance
“The boys that went to the team, of course have to know each other better, create more complexities and better societies. But they work, Vitor and Fabio, they worked, available in every moment, creating lines of pass, linking the game.
“Fabio had moments, as a striker in the box, he did good moments – next time, try to be more accurate, work on that, we have to work on a lot of aspects. These chances can be better finished.”
On integrating the new faces
“Fabio and Vitor are very young. They joined us this season, them knowing their teammates better, trying to create better movements, better solutions, because they are talented players.
“It’s always the same process, integrating in the team, so we can take advantage of the options we have.
“Vitor, Fabio and Oskar coming into the team, integrating them into the dynamic of the team, the way we play, the lines, but we worked really hard. We have to improve and this is our job.”
On Jota’s absence
“Him and Max were not available for selection. We have a short squad, all the options are good, but today they were not available. Decisions we have to make, we have to prepare the squad, we have to know the moment of the season.
“It was a quick turnaround, we have to take care of the players, so we can still build and improve our squad.”
On attention to Monday
“We have to prepare, knowing it’s going to be hard. As always, we go to the game, we are ready to compete, perform well, this is what we want to do. It’s a new challenge, what happened in the past, it’s over. Now we focus on Man City.”
