What's the latest team news, Thomas? We've seen Romelu Lukaku is back running today?
"Yes, but no change for the match tomorrow for Romelu and Timo [Werner]. Both of them are out.
Christian Pulisic is back with the group, as he was in Malmo.
"Unfortunately, Marcos Alonso and Mateo [Kovacic] are out. Marcos injured himself
in the very last minute of the Malmo match.
"He tried to come out now for training but the stress is too high on the ankle, it's too
painful. It's nothing big but too painful at the moment so he will not be in the squad tomorrow."
When do you expect Romelu to be back?
"To give you any date now, I would have to confirm.
We also have the national break now and we will be more clear after that.
"We will use the time, of course, and see what is going on in the second week of the national break.
"If you ask me the question then I can be more precise than now.
We have that break and we will use it. He will have treatment every day, the same
for Timo and Mateo, to bring them on the pitch as soon as possible."
What's the latest with Mason Mount given his illness as he's been picked for the England squad?
"It's a tricky one. He was ill but the reason is his wisdom tooth. This is the reason for
the illness and for the feeling like an illness, there's a bit of an infection.
"He was back in training yesterday and today but has lost a bit of weight because he cannot
eat properly. So he takes medication and let's see. He's in the squad for tomorrow,
can play some minutes, but we will need to wait for the reaction because it seems like
a proper treatment has to be done."
Do you agree with Arsene Wenger that international windows should be cut down to one or two a year?
"A brilliant idea, it's a brilliant idea if it's like this. There are too many windows,
of course, too many competitions, too many games for the top players.
"It increases only the quantity and not quality. Supporters and everybody wants
to have the top players on the pitch, and it's too much, it's as simple as that."
Antonio Conte has taken charge at Tottenham,
how good a coach is he and could you see yourself one day managing Spurs?
"Haha! I'm happy where I am. Of course, it's good news for the Premier League;
he's one of the best managers in the world, you only have to look at his titles
"So he will make it super-tough to play against
Tottenham, I am absolutely sure. But I am in a happy place, and not concerned about
what other people and what other clubs do. I'm enjoying very much where I am."
Are you having to manage your squad carefully at the moment
given you've had four games in ten days?
"A little bit but at the same time, we are happy when we have three days between matches
as we can give one day off for mental recovery and still have two training sessions together.
Today was the last training session and we will meet later again for dinner and then sleepover
in a hotel to use the time properly and take care of our time when we rest and play sharp tomorrow.
"I know we demand a lot at the moment
but it's important to demand it from ourselves. We expect a tough match, a tough opponent
that is short on points but not short performance. Burnley play a strong and intense game,
they have a courageous approach - they played at Manchester City with high intense pressing.
"So we need to be at our best level to come up with solutions and match the intensity
they bring into the games. Like I said, we demand a lot from ourselves but it's necessary
we bring all this to the pitch because there is a strong opponent waiting.
"It could be human or reasonable to say that we have six wins from seven matches and somehow we
will manage it again because it's a home game and we've got a strong squad. But we need to
be at 100% level, 95% is not enough. That is why we push everybody because that is the schedule.
"We manage everybody. Some of the guys, especially those up front because we
suffered injuries – Mason, Christian, Timo and Romelu – are a little bit in trouble with
them being overused and tired. But at the same time, everybody wants to be out on the pitch."
Is Callum heading in the right direction and would you advise him to play for England Under-21s?
"I did not get involved in this
discussion. I know it's been a discussion between the federation and Callum and if I am right,
it ended up with Petr Cech being in discussion with the federation. I was happy about that.
"I've no interest to get involved and to know the exact reasons.
If Callum is here, we have full control over what he is doing, his load,
his focus, and his approach to his game. So it's also a good thing when we are in charge of him.
"He is clearly in the right way, you can see in the matches and how effective he is. I feel
him very focused. He waited a long time for these chances and now they've arrived. The best reaction
from him is to show the consistency we need at the moment for him. He is in a good way."
Do you expect Mason to join up with England?
"If everything is ok, but what I know right now is
we need a proper treatment of the wisdom teeth, so it can be that he is out or joins a bit later.
"We will always push and encourage him. There is no doubt. We are proud when he is selected,
he is proud when he is selected. So there are no tactics going on behind closed doors
to keep Mason here. It's the opposite. But we have full responsibility for his health
and there is something going on we need to take care about.
"This is what we did with Andreas Christensen when he was suddenly out for the Southampton
game in the cup because the treatment needed to be done. That is the first priority.
Then we will do everything to make it happen and then maybe Mason can join the squad."
How pleased have you been with Trevoh Chalobah and what can he achieve at this club?
"He can achieve what he wants. It was his childhood dream to play with Chelsea and
he is on his best way to have a big impact. We are happy he committed and signed his contract.
"He is a Chelsea boy, is living his dream and I am impressed with
his maturity. He is so focused, doesn't get carried away. You can see the career he had,
he took good choices, had many different challenges to face [on loan], and when
he came into pre-season everyone had the feeling he was ready to be part of the group.
"He proved it so all the credit goes to him. He can achieve what he wants if he stays
humble and hungry at the same time like he is doing. The nice guy that he is,
he is in the right place to fulfil his dreams at Chelsea."
How closely are you monitoring Conor Gallagher's progress?
"He is not hard to follow because he is
standing out every single matchday so it's an easy one to follow and credit to him.
"We had long talks in pre-season and we imagined he could stay and fight for his place here. But we
decided that when the talks came up with Patrick Vieria at Crystal Palace, he understood the
role he could have in the Premier League at the club. He wanted to take the challenge.
"We also agreed to let him go because we thought, in the end, this could be the right thing to do.
You need a bit of luck and, of course, a lot of quality. Conor's heart is so, so big; you could
wake up him at 4am and he'll start running and sprinting, collecting balls and winning duels.
This is what he does. He feels good and has the trust of the club and manager.
"Right now, it's the beginning of November and he is an important member of the
Crystal Palace squad. It's good where he is
and there is no need to change this. He feels good and feels a huge part at this club."
Have you rewatched your first-ever win at Chelsea over Burnley last season?
"We have come quite a long way. We looked at the pictures again to understand what we did,
where we have come from. We are also looking forward because everyone is talking about the
difficult atmosphere you face at Burnley. It was very quick, we had only some days of preparation,
now we know each other much better. You know exactly what you get when you face Burnley.
"They have a clear identity and a manager who has been in charge for many years.
You can see the mentality from the coach on the pitch from his team. So we will
try to have the same output that we can win. It will be a tough one.
It is a nice journey so far so hopefully we will have some months to go."
How important is the team spirit, is this the most united group you've coached?
"It is a united group and it is a pleasure to manage them. I don't like comparisons because I
like all my teams and you can only be successful if you like your teams and become part of it.
"I don't know what you saw on social media because I am not [good at
basketball]. It worries me a little bit what our guys put out there!
It is nice to be here every day and it is part of it to laugh together and enjoy our time.
"We know exactly, at the end, when the game arrives that you need a mix to enjoy the moment,
feel free, be creative, be courageous but at the same time know what's coming,
know how hard it is going to be in the Premier League and be fully focused.
"You always want a good mix. If you see us play basketball, it is because it is
two days after a game or before a game and we don't want to give too much load. We still want
to have the boys together out there and enjoy what they are doing.
It is a good group with a good spirit and it is nice to be here every single day."
Former England international Trevor Sinclair called Callum Hudson-Odoi
arrogant for not joining up with the England Under-21s, do you feel that's unfair?
"I can understand if people don’t understand it or if they don’t like it. I don’t give too much
about judgements outside. First of all, I don’t read them and I hear them when you mention them.
"I think Callum is very aware that if he takes a decision like this not everybody
will be happy about this decision. But you should ask Callum and he will
probably have good reasons why he is not joining or why he thinks personally it is better to stay
and to be here in training and fight for his place.
" It is easy to judge from outside. You should hear both sides if you want this case to be
solved. I am not involved and I am happy because I do not think it is necessary that I get involved.
I’m not here to convince players to join where they don’t generally feel that they want to join.
"So we do the best out of this situation and if there are consequences I am sure
Callum takes the consequences because he is a young adult and that’s it."