About Delap's return
- We have no new injuries. Delap participated in the team's joint training for the first time yesterday. He will not be able to play tomorrow, but he should be able to play in the next game.
Can Delap play in the Carabao Cup against Wolves?
- It should work.
About developing young players
- I said after the game that this is a special night for the club and the fans because there are so many young players and they are very talented. The most important thing to me is helping them improve day by day. If you can improve the players, you can improve the team.
Again, trying to help them understand the way we want them to play, and our coaching staff will be with all of them after practice. We take the time to help them try to improve, they are still young and they need to improve. Of course, if you want to improve the team, you need to improve the players.
Let Esteban play all the time?
- For me, finding balance is easy. We have 24 to 25 players, all good players, but only 11 can start. I've shown since I joined the club that we keep changing players. They get upset when they don't play, but they also know they can't play every game.
What would you tell a young player if he couldn't play?
- Age doesn't matter, not for Esteban, but for almost all players. If you told Adarabioyo, the oldest, that he wasn't going to play, he wouldn't be happy. It has nothing to do with age, but they need to understand that they can't play every game.
On the challenge against Sunderland
- From the start of the season, they showed they are a very good team. They work together and have a tacit understanding. They have the same points as us, so that shows how good they are. This is the Premier League and no game is easy.
About Le Bris (Sunderland coach)
- I coached Leicester City in the Championship for one season and I loved the Championship. I've been following Sunderland since their manager came in last season, they play great football, they're very physical and I like the way they play.
About Jiwu's progress
- Jiwu is a typical No. 9 position. He has excellent physical fitness and is a penalty area player. He still has a lot of room for improvement and can do better. Every day he trains with us and we try to help him. As for Joao Pedro, we know he can play as a 9 or 10, and he is very good in both positions.
Talk about Jiwu again
- I talked with Jiwu two weeks ago. I told him that I didn't like the way he trained before and that he needed to change, and he did change.
Why Jiwu was not trained well before
——His training was not very good in all aspects. He's been doing really well since we talked, which is great.
Is Jiwu ready to start?
- Yes, of course.
About the Sunderland test
- The challenge has always been the same: trying to win games. They will try to create different situations.
Regarding the concerns about Esteban
- We have Andre Santos and Joao Pedro, they have given him a lot of help, they have known each other for a long time. As club staff we are trying to help him and give him all the attention he needs. Not just Esteban, but all the players from abroad. He is a special player, he only thinks about football and he is happy.
About Enzo giving the penalty to Esteban
- It was very, very good, and I told the players after the game that of course we were happy to win, but the most important thing about that game was that Enzo gave the penalty to Esteban, which shows the current situation of the team and how united they are.