On the vibe in training over the last couple of days in anticipation for Sunday:
It’s good. I think it’s always nice when the lads come back after a few days off. As I say, it’s one of them things that most coaches will tell you, if you can get a chance to get the guys away from each other for three or four days, it’s good. Because like anybody, you get fed up of each other at times and you know, it’s been good. The mood has been really, really good. And I think the introduction of the new players as well, coming always adds a little bit to the group. Everybody sort of raises the game a little bit, and everybody wants to impress. And it’s been really good. The mood is — I’m mainly looking forward to the game at the weekend. I know I probably shouldn’t, when you look at their last few results, but that’s who I am.

On if he learned anything from facing Sporting KC back to back that he will take to now facing Seattle back to back:
I think one of the issues that you have sometimes when you play teams back to back, sometimes there is a carry over of one or two niggling incidents. But we haven't really had that. And I think the fact is, that the games will be different. We know that, you know, one of the things that I was really worried about, about Sporting, was their counterattacking play with the players that they have at their disposal. Now obviously, we’ll approach the game in a slightly different manner. The fact that we’re away from home, and we know how good they are on the counterattack. And there are certain things that I think we can work for in the next three or four days that may help us in the set up. At home, I will always try and take the game to the opposition. Which is what we did here. And had we got the goals that our play deserved at times, it might have been a different outcome. But it wasn’t. And we left ourselves exposed at times, and they took full advantage.

On when he was a player, and the rehab he would go through during the week between games, outside of training:
I think a lot depends on your own body, and your age. I remember — until the age of around 30 — I used to do everything. I trained morning and afternoon, played tennis, played squash, I did everything. And then as you get older, your body tells you that you can’t do that. And I was fortunate to play until I was 36. And then when, overnight, the body just packed in. And there was no intention of retiring, the body retired me. So I think a lot depends on your nature of what you are. And how your body type is. And obviously the time of the season. Now we’re getting to this length of the season.

On ice baths, etc:
Oh, there was none of them in that days. It was, after the game, shower, a few pints with your mates, off Sunday, in Monday, Tuesday, off Wednesday, in Thursday, Friday, game Saturday. And then the same routine. Obviously the one thing in England is if you’re with a successful team, is that, invariably, you’ve got a mid-week game. Whether a European game, and the further you go in the competition. When I was at Everton, we were playing nearly Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday most of the season. And when you weren’t, that was time to rest and recuperate a little bit and get your body back together. Because I think the other thing that has changed enormously since when I played is the physical contact. You know, the tackle from behind was still allowed, and defenders used to get away with it. I always talk about Terry completely ripping my sock and four studs up. Bleeding down the back of my calf, and the referee going, ‘that’s your last warning Terry.’ Not even a booking. Now it’s a red card, and maybe five games, and all this stuff. So the game has changed considerably. So, you know, the physical demands of the game back then, not only the energy wise, but the actual physical contact, bodily contact, has changed the game completely.

On if he’s surprised to see the things that his players do, in treatments off the field (acupuncture):
I’m not surprised. It’s the evolution of it all, if you’d like. I sometimes believe that we’re going too far. And I think, it’s a strange thing. Because when I was look at the way the preseasons used to be when I played, to now, it’s completely different. But the other thing is, there are certain coaches like [Diego] Simeone at Atletico Madrid, who does it exactly the same as it used to be. Against the grain now. Can’t have more than three days on the trot where it’s physical. He just does it like the old days. Six weeks, he’s gonna kill you for six weeks. He doesn’t do too bad on it, you know. So it’s strange. And I think, and I’ve acquired a strong opinion on this, I think that we were probably too extreme one way, and I think we’re in danger of going too extreme the other. I think there’s a happy medium somewhere in between. And it’s the old stuff, players know more about the body now then we ever did, and now we’re always worried about has he got a concussion? We’ll send him for an MRI. So players know more about their body than they’ve ever known, but sometimes it does give them a get out of jail card, I always say.

On his view on sports physiology:
I think it's something I wish would have been about when I played. I think it’s one aspect that I certainly could have dealt with. If there’s one aspect that I think would have helped me, it would have been that.

On how he feels the home stand went, as he always spoke it would be a pivotal time for the club:
I think there was two or three really good performances. I don’t think we got as many points as our performances warranted. But we were against good teams. I look at the two games, the last two home games, against Seattle, and I look at the game against New York, you know, really crucial moments, very small dividing line between, did we take the chance to go 1-nil up? No, we don’t. Then we concede at the other end. I think their extra bits of quality told, certainly in their attacking play for both of them was excellent. But, it shows us how far we’ve got to go. We knew this year was going to be tough for us. We were a long way behind when we took over. But, you know, I think that we are developing a good core to move forward with. And that for me is… Had we taken five or six, say we would have taken nine points, 10 points. It would have put us that much closer to the playoff line. Then we would have been really involved in it, rather than the four that we’d take, had we taken nine, it does change the whole perception of it. But this league is so up and down, you know, who’s to say that we can’t go to Seattle and win? I remember the week before we played Seattle, D.C. United were up there. So the league does throw strange results. So we have to believe that we can go and win two or three games on the road in the next three or four weeks. And that’s what we have to believe. And if we play like we can, if we play to the level that we’ve done at places like Houston away, where we were the first team to take points. Our performance in Toronto was excellent. Performance at Dallas, in the beginning of the season, was excellent. But we’re going to need that type of performance to get a few results. Now, do I think we’re capable of it? Yeah, I do. And if we do, then we can keep it alive. Because that’s what we have to believe. We have to believe that, you know, there is something to play for in these next 11 games.

On if he thinks he got enough out of the home stand that the playoffs are still in reach:
It’s made it more difficult. Obviously we’re aware of that. And the fact that we’ve got eight of the next 11 as well. And when you haven’t won a game on the road, people will look and go, well that’s them, done. But this league is a strange league. People are capable of pulling three or four games. Are we? Maybe the jury is still out on that one. Are we capable of going and winning three games, four games on the spin? I don’t know. But I know that when we play well, we’re competitive. I know it’s an old cliché — take each game as it comes — let’s go to Seattle, who are playing incredibly well, making it really difficult, as they always have done at their home stadium, and let’s see what the game gives us. Then let’s turn our attention to Chicago. But we can't get too far ahead of ourselves. Other than the fact that, there’s still so much to play for, for so many people at this club. We have, we can’t be negative and go, well that’s the season, over. I got told very early in my career that you were always playing for something. And trust me, every one of our players is always playing for something. Moving between now and the end of the season.

On if he was happy with everything he got out of the transfer window:
We were close to doing something that I think would have helped us, but it wasn’t to be. We were looking at another body that we were trying to bring in, and I think if we would have got that particular player, it would have been a huge help for everybody, but it wasn’t to be. One thing about it, is I wanted to bring people in who I think can play in the first team. I think with the fact that we’ve brought now Ethan [Finlay], we’ve brought [Michael] Boxall in, we’ve brought [Sam] Nicholson in, [José] Leiton is coming in now. They've proved that they can play at this level. Which I think has increased competition, which in turn will help everybody.

On if there is still a piece or two that he’s hoping to still get with free agency:
Well, I think it will be tough now. Where we are at this moment in time, there will have to be one or two people to leave for us to bring anybody else in.

On what he’s hoping to see in the rest of the season:
I want us to be competitive until the last game of the season. I want the players to believe that every game that they play in, there’s something on the line for them. Because trust me, there is. And if people, if any of our players think the season is going to taper away slowly, then they’ve got the wrong coaching now. Because I’m not going to allow that to happen. We've got too many new players who have got something still to prove at this level. And in this league. And prove that we’re going to be here next year. We all want to be building towards next year as well. So now it’s a case of, we’re going to take each game as it comes, every one of our players has got so much to work for moving forward.

On whether or not this has been what he expected when he signed for this job:
On the field, I think that we’re a little bit behind, and it took us a while to catch up. We had a lot of decisions to make in a very short period of time. Off the field, our support has been fantastic, considering the season that we’ve had so far. The support has been unwavering. And I notice it more now and around the city in the supporters. And it makes you even more determined to keep pushing forward. Keep moving. Working hard to give them a team that they can be proud of, because I think that this can be a really, really good market. Obviously we’ve got the thing of the stadium to look forward to, but we’ve got another year in TCF Bank. And we’ve got a lot of work to do. Every day. When I look at what we’re trying to build for next year as well, it’s quite exciting. And I’m really looking forward to it.

On his position specifically:
Where I’m sitting? I’m sitting in a position where I think, early on, I think we were really poor. I thought our performances, we had better players than our performances warranted early on. I think we have got better. I think we’ve been more competitive. But as always, you know, I’ve generally been successful. And I want to be a success here. So, we’ve got to keep working. Every single day. Me and the staff, to get better, and to make the team better. That’s what we’ll do.