DH & TK Press Conference

Bristol City press conference live: Dean Holden and Tomas Kalas on Wycombe, more
Updates from Wednesday's preview event ahead of the Boxing Day Championship clash.

While you wait: How City should use Jan
Here’s how our City reporter believes the club should look to use January.

City may also be boosted next month by any loanees that they decide to recall, with Marley Watkins, Kasey Palmer and Cam Pring all possibilities to return to Ashton Gate to play a role in the second half of the campaign.

It’s not inconceivable that some five to six players could swell the squad by the end of January.

But the club can also use the transfer market to their gain - and given the despondency among supporters after five defeats in the last seven games, it could prove wise to do so, as well as balancing up the three long-term injuries to Andi Weimann, Jay Dasilva and Chris Brunt - with Dasilva and Brunt both expected to be out several months, and Weimann most of the remainder of the season.

Tomas Kalas speaks
I feel alright - and obviously I have niggles but it’s nothing major. It’s not really surprising after having one million games in three days.

As everyone at this stage of the season, we’ll be tired, and that’s why we need to get as as much as we can when we just play weekend to weekend.

TK on Preston loss and mood in the camp
Obviously everyone was disappointed after the game, because we didn’t want to have any run of losses - and this has been three games where we didn’t get a point.

But I’d say based on the second half performance against Preston there has been to be some kind of belief that we’ve got e nough quality to turn it around.

And I’m sure there is and I can see it already, after a couple of days and sessions. that everyone is a bit fresher and hungry for a win.

TK on what City need to do better to get results
It’s not really for me to say what we need to improve, because it would be unfair on people or whoever. But obviously we haven’t scored a goal and conceded five in the last three, so at both ends of the pitch and in the middle - so it’s quite easy to say overall we need to get better.

TK on this week
We had a couple of days off after the game to recharge and switch off from football and recharge with families, even though I don’t have a family here for people that do.

So everyone can focus on something else and then everyone is back ready to focus at the start of the week to give everything in the session, whoever is fully fit.

And have a few proper sessions in a row, because I can’t remember the last time we were able to do that.

TK on back to back training sessions
It is important when you have a full week to work on stuff to improve or to just refresh the mind. With the amount of games we’ve got, sometimes your mind slips.

Or sometimes we forget something because it’s just one game after another and loads of information and your brain can’t really cope with that much information.

When you’ve got all the week, you can put your mind at rest and focus on what’s really important and the basic stuff that we need to focus on.

TK on long-term injured players at City
I’m not sure [if any long-term injured players may be back for Boxing Day] - that would be a good question for our medical team.

I don’t really know. When I see the board of the names of the injured players it looks almost as big as it used to be. But if there is one name missing I wouldn’t really spot it because it’s that many names.

DH on Preston reflections
We’ve watched it back and certainly seen what we could have done better. But there were also lots of good things as well.

This week’s been great for us. It’s been the first week in a long time that we’ve been able to work on the grass with the players on the astro turf this morning with the weather. And get some real good work in all departments - we’re striving to improve in every area.

Certainly the attacking play, we want to be creating more chances in each game. Set-pieces... But we also need to make sure we keep the back door shut as well. It’s given us some real good time to go through some principles of how we want to play. And the fine details. It’s been a real good week.

DH on lack of 'front-foot football'
There are certainly 15 teams in the division who would swap places with us right now.

We’re three points outside the play-offs, despite all the issues that we’ve had, which have been well documented.

At the same time, we are on a poor run of results and poor run of form and we’re looking to address that everyday.

The front-foot football was evident in the early part of the season. You have to adapt. To sit there as a head coach and say we’re going to play in exactly this style in every game, despite the personnel available, is not the right way to do it.

You have to adapt to the situation you’re in, you have to look at the personnel available and you have to adapt to that and find ways to try and get results with those resources.

That’s what we’re trying to do. I felt the second half was very much like us at Preston. It was more front foot in the second half. We won the ball high and pressed many times in their half of the pitch and created chances off the back of it. And that’s the type of football that we want.

And that’s what we’ll be trying to do in this next batch of games.

DH on not playing young players at Preston
If you look through the division you won’t find many teams with five or six players on the bench.

We’ve seen in recent weeks with Opi Edwards coming off the bench that they’re getting their opportunity.

Of course, we went 4-4-2 in the second half with Chris Martin, Nahki Wells and Antoine Semenyo on the pitch - and I certainly didn’t want to be bringing one of those guys off for one of the youngsters.

Nahki Wells is our top scorer and we know what Chrissy Martin can do when he’s on top form - and I felt that Antoine was outstanding in that second half and could have had a couple of goals on another day. As could Callum O’Dowda.

The guys are on the bench, they’re not just there to make up the numbers. If we feel we need to throw them in, we will.

DH on what the club has worked on this week
Across all departments. This week has given us the opportunity to work on everything - with and without the ball and on set-pieces too.

We need to improve on throw-ins too and people might think why, but the swings of attack you can get from a well-executed attacking throw-in or if you don’t defend properly from one and the opposition can get out and the opposition can get out and have a chance at your goal.

All these fine margins, we’ve had the chance to work on all of them this week. We’ve not worked on one specific thing, we’ve worked on everything. Certainly that attacking play is something we’re working on all the time to keep improving the chances we’re creating.

DH on team news for Saturday
No [we won’t get any long-termers back for Saturday.]

Any chance of Jamie Paterson being back?

No, not for the weekend. Jamie’s gone to see a specialist in London for a second opinion to try and get to the bottom of the problem he’s had.

We’re hoping that we’ve now found a solution to that but certainly the game on the weekend will be too soon for him.

And what’s the solution? Will he need rehab or surgery?

In the initial period a little bit of rehab. We’re hoping it won’t come to surgery. We’ll just have to see how we go along with that.

DH on Joe Williams and Liam Walsh
No, I think it’ll be February before we see Liam Walsh back in the training group.

He’s been out for so long, that he’s going to need a decent period of training to get up to speed for a game. That’s going to be a while yet.

Joe Williams has struggled with his rehabilitation and a couple of times it’s not gone as we’d have expected with him. As I say, he’s having a period now where he’s back rehabilitating and we can’t wait to get him back with us.

We’ve not seen him since the day that we signed him. It’s been very frustrating for everybody, not least for Joe himself. And we’re just doing everything we can to get him back as soon as possible.

DH on Mawson and Baker
I would hope so [that they’re back in the New Year]. Baker was out doing some light work with the physio this morning and Mawson’s been continuing in the background with his fitness work off the back of his operation - and I would hope that we might see those two back from mid-January with the group again.

Then getting them up to speed and sharpness for a game.

DH on Marley Watkins' return - and staying
Yes, he has [returned]. He’ll be back rehabilitating with us.

He got a hamstring injury up at Aberdeen and was performing really well, becoming an integral part of their team.

Unfortunately he picked up this injury and he’s back with us to rehabilitate and we’ll go from there.

Is there any plan for him? Will you keep him or will he go back out on loan?

His period of rehabilitation is going to take him beyond the loan window closing. So Marley will be back with us and will rehab with us and then we’ll assess when he’s back fit if he can rejoin the squad.

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport...ws/bristol-city-press-conference-live-4826633

 

I think this is amazing, we sign a player for over £1m, presumably pay up and thats it, what a statement, something wrong somewhere.
'We’ve not seen him since the day that we signed him. It’s been very frustrating for everybody, not least for Joe himself. And we’re just doing everything we can to get him back as soon as possible.'

 

Walsh ~
No, I think it’ll be February before we see Liam Walsh back in the training group.
He’s been out for so long, that he’s going to need a decent period of training to get up to speed for a game. That’s going to be a while yet.

Williams ~
We’ve not seen him since the day that we signed him. It’s been very frustrating for everybody, not least for Joe himself. And we’re just doing everything we can to get him back as soon as possible.

It's crazy, they've no idea whats up, whats wrong or when they will be back our expensively assembled medical specialists don't know!!