What a fantastic night the stadium jumping Antonio making history it was pretty special wasn’t it?
Yeah, a lot of good things for us tonight and the most important thing was that we got three points and the players put in a really good performance.
What did you say to Antonio at half time and what did you like about his goals?
Well, his goals are typical Mich he can score so many, actually, the cross he had and the keeper saved from his header was a great chance I just didn’t think he made the right choices in the first half with the ball but I thought the second half he was different class, his link-up play, his positioning the way he set up Said for his goal was terrific he offered an awful lot for us, I thought he was very good.
Is his form so good that you still feel you need to go into the market to get some more support upfront for him before the window closes?
Well, we need to get some more reinforcements if we can do so but I want to try and bring players in who I feel can help me and not just people to appease because it sounds as if we need players.
And one of those players may be Kurt Zouma can you say anything more about a potential deal with Chelsea yet?
I never talked about players at other clubs because it’s disrespectful to the club, and to the player as well so I wouldn’t do that.
The West Ham fans are on cloud nine tonight. What was it like to be in the stadium and what would your message be to them tonight?
I managed at Upton Park against West Ham and it was the closest to Upton Park, it was an incredible stadium and I thought it was a great atmosphere tonight.
Tonight it was like Upton Park and it was a big change. The support was terrific tonight but I’ve got to say I think the players gave the supporters really something to cheer about as well but I’ve got to say the supporters did not let us down they were great tonight.
In the first half Pablo Fornals was exceptional wasn’t he?
Pablo Fornals played really well and I mentioned it last year I thought he was a bit under the radar last year with what he did for the team and how he performed but, you know, he has come back in good shape and can play in so many different roles for us, he is a great boy to work with. I’m glad he is getting these goals because we want him to chip in with more, so him getting a goal tonight was really good.
Just with Antonio has he done anything over the summer that’s changed in any way or is it just being fit and being in good shape. I mean, is there any change in him at all?
I think Mich’s big thing is he’s got to a stage in his career when he realises being in top condition can make a big difference.
Mich has only become a centre-forward in the last 18 months two years really. When we came back from lockdown we put him centre-forward and he scored the goals after that. And really, he’s going on and he’s looking a real handful, so I’ve got to say great credit to Mich, but his plays improved so much.
His all-round play as a centre-forward from when we first put them into the role has greatly improved and he’s got a few goals now and a couple of assists maybe could have scored another one tonight so all in all, I’m really pleased with Mich.
Mich’s journey, he’s come up from non-league and faced rejection and maybe not been appreciated for how good he is. What does that say about him now he’s West Ham’s top goal scorer in the Premier League?
Well I think Mich’s got a big personality he’s a big character and I think he probably just needed a little bit of real direction but I think he’s got it himself, his family life, his home life has given him something nice and steady.
And I think we have come in and given him a position when I feel that he’s playing really well, and he’s probably looking back and thinking why was I not a centre-forward earlier I might have scored loads more goals because he is now enjoying the feeling.
You can see what he thinks of it in his celebrations. So, I think he can score more goals and I think that this year we’re hoping that he can do.
You spoke about his centre-forward play, really developing an understanding of that position is that just down to playing it a lot or do you put that down to one of your coaches or work with him yourself?
I don’t think it’s down to any one coach I think it is down to Mich, we are on at him all the time for different elements of his game and there are people who will tell him more about centre-forward play better than me but overall he is a great worker for the team.
He has got power and pace and if we can keep him fit we know he’s liable to come up with something and there will be days when it is not his day but when he’s on form like he was tonight then he is fabulous.
Said Benrahma came from Brentford last season, he had a difficult season but this season, he seems to have a lot more confidence, more self-belief and I thought he had an excellent game tonight.
Yeah, he did. I think Said needed to take stock and settle in and realise he had to be a team player as much as an individual, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I think that he had not realised that he is part of a team and we have to do all the right things together and because of that he’s actually getting these goals, he’s making goals, which is what we brought him for.
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His numbers at Brentford were very good, whether it be goals and assists and I think his play is improving which we needed.
He needed to improve his play and sometimes the boys coming into the Premier League from the Championship, and I can tell you loads of them who have I brought over the years, some can hit the ground running but in truth, most of them take a bit of time to settle and I think Said took a bit of time to settle
How many signings do you think you have to make to build on from the back-to-back league wins and the upcoming Europa League campaign?
I think I need to add to the squad if I can but I can’t guarantee anything just because of the way the window is but I do feel as if I need to add to it, we probably don’t have enough depth but trying to get players who are going to give us another level as you can see tonight is not easy.