Gary O’Neil admits Thursday’s exertions in the late defeat to Manchester United asked a lot of his players, but he expects them to recover properly and be ready to go again at Stamford Bridge.
The Old Gold’s nine-match unbeaten run on home soil came to an end following a late strike from the visitors, but they pushed United all the way, scoring three goals after the break. However, in two days O’Neil takes his side to West London to face a Chelsea side they beat at Molineux on Christmas Eve, and he wants to see more signs of his group moving in the right direction.
On a quick turnaround for Chelsea
“It’ll be an incredibly tough challenge, as always, playing Manchester United like we just have or Chelsea, two of the biggest clubs in England. They have incredible ability to sign talent and produce some of their own talent – massive squad full of quality. It’ll be an incredibly tough test, especially with such a quick turnaround and such a small squad.
“The effort which went into the Manchester United game and the amount of work the boys put in will take some recovering from, so it was important we started to get the lads recovered as quickly as possible and going to Stamford Bridge will be a real test. We’ll embrace it, the same as we have with every other game.”
On continuing to progress as a group
“As I said before the Man United game, you can give everything at this level and still cruelly come out the losing side. I’m looking at more from us, more progression, more togetherness, and see if we can keep producing.
“The distance we’ve managed to move over the last six months – I’ve watched a few games from last season, where games like Thursday got away and it ended up five or six – so I think how far we’ve come shouldn’t be taken lightly, but that doesn’t mean we stop. We have to keep going.”
On maintaining the spirit in the group
“That’s always a big part of what I do. It was always a big part of what I tried to do last season and it’s been a big part of what I’ve tried to do this season. Transfer windows when you’re in the playing squad already can be funny because sometimes you’d like to see a few arrive because you’ll get help and support, and other times for selfish reasons, and being in it together, you prefer it to stay how it was.
“I don’t know how each individual thinks about it, I’m clear on how I feel about them and how I feel about the group and what we are. I’m sure, no matter what happens between now and the end of the season, you’ll get us giving absolutely everything in every moment.
“I don’t think there’ll be too many teams that can suffer a sucker punch like the one which made it 3-1 against Manchester United and still show the resilience to get back up and fight their way back like we did. I’m sure if there was another five or six minutes left, we’d have found a way to fight and threaten to make it 4-4. That’s where it is, it’s my job to keep it there and to make sure the lads understand how important each little detail is. Will we ever be perfect? Probably not. But it’s my job to get us as close as possible.”
On Fraser making his Premier League debut
“Nathan will be fine. He’s going to be thrown in to get some football experience in the Premier League with where we are at this moment. Actually, number nines, him and Channy really are the two at the club. JJ does a decent job there for us, he’s working very had at it, and Nathan will get some opportunities maybe he didn’t expect to get at this point in his career.
“Playing against Manchester United is an incredible experience for him. I’ll have a clear understanding of where Nathan is and what he needs, when he needs exposure to things and when he needs protecting from things, as always, with the best interest of the group and trying to progress the football club.
“He’s been around a lot of the work we do, so all the work we’ve done with Channy, JJ and all the attacking players, he’s been around, so he understands the structure and what we’re trying to do. That gives him a good chance. The fact he’s unbelievably willing, incredibly determined, and has some quality gives him a chance of being able to affect games. It is a big ask for him, he’s 18, he’s not played a great deal of senior football, but he’s going to get some opportunities now and we’ll get to find out exactly where he is.”
