Team news - any fresh concerns?
"No fresh concerns. Everyone’s okay, thankfully."
Moore etc ready to start yet?
I would say so, yeah. They've not had required minutes in terms of on the pitch but they've been training well.
They're in a much better position now to be able to start.
Selection headaches after the way you came back on Tuesday?
Absolutely. The lads have done well. The lads that went on did well, but it’s not headaches when you send subs on and they do well. It’s a nice problem to have. If you put subs on and they don’t do anything that’s a different matter altogether. We had 25 minutes in the second half, I don’t know where the first five minutes came from that’s for sure. And then we were all out of kilter. They were on the front foot, we were struggling, but the reaction in the last 20 minutes was excellent.
Resolve has been a big part of your reign?
Absolutely. We were 2-0 down at Barnsley in my first game and they responded similarly on that occasion. It’s a lovely quality to have, certainly in the Championship. If you haven’t got those qualities and you got 2-0 down you start getting spanked. It’s not a nice place to be. Knowing they’ve got that resilience and that willingness to fight for each other is a real benefit, particularly in this league because it’s a tough old league.
Need a bit more than that to succeed?
Without a doubt. And we’ve shown it in both. We showed far more quality at Blackpool. The performance there was very good. The first half against Peterborough, I was quite confident we’d go on and clear that game in the second half.
It was always going to be a tough game at Peterborough, but if you can’t play well, show all those other qualities and then don’t get beat.
More to come?
I’d like to think there’s a lot more to come. If the start’s anything to go by, then we’ve done okay. We’ll get better and better as we continue to train and play together.
On a good run - three defeats out of 26
They’re nice stats to have to back it up. I certainly don’t like losing games. Three out of 26 defeats is pretty good. The lads have been terrific. We won seven on the bounce at one stage last season. Nobody’s won all their games in the league this season. It’s going to be a tough old league. I see West Brom, Bournemouth, Fulham, anyone who finishes above them will probably win the league. Lots of the other teams might be a much of a muchness I don’t know. So that resilience and doggedness is going to help us.
Millwall - a scrap tomorrow?
They’ll be looking to get some points. At the start of the season, if you don’t start it well it becomes tougher and tougher, looking for your first win. They had a pretty good season last year. But I can’t remember going into a Championship game and it not being a scrap. It will be a hard game. No doubt about it.
Millwall where you management career started
All the clubs I’ve played for or managed, all have a place in my heart, but I play against them, I want to slap them.
We’re professionals. I loved my time there and I’ll always be grateful for them giving me my chance to become a coach. I love going down there. When I go down there to watch games it’s great. I live in the area, but there will be no favours given.
Reactions to taking the knee - Millwall booed
I have an input on every decision I do. If I didn’t think it was worth respecting I wouldn't do it. Quite clearly I do, and so do the players. I remember at Bournemouth and they didn't do it, so I checked with my team and they still wanted to do it, as long as they want to do it we’ll continue to do it.
More on Millwall
It’s a great club. I still see Millwall fans and get on great with them. I wouldn't want it to change. Our club has a certain spirit and there’s too.
Fire and brimstone is every week in the Championship. It’s not just because Millwall are coming here. They’ll be coming here for a scrap. If you don’t want to scrap in the Championship, you’ve got to be prepared to win the fight.