Jürgen, obviously there continues to be a lot of reports
surrounding the future of Philippe Coutinho,
I have to ask you, last transfer window the club made it clear
that he wasn't for sale, has that position at all changed?
What do you expect to happen in this window
should another bid come in for him from Barcelona?
Look, all the things I could say now will only create stories.
You write the stories anyway. So I have nothing to say about it,
that's actually how it is, that's...
That's how it is, so...
It's a transfer window, that's all,
and I know that means already I've opened the door halfway,
because I mentioned that it's the transfer window, but there's nothing to say about...
that would help me, or the player, or the club.
OK, that was now the wrong direction, but that's actually the only thing I'm interested in.
I could phrase it differently though, and say at this stage you have to consider the possibility
of having to replace him in this transfer window.
Whatever you can consider, obviously it's not my cup of tea, so...
Sorry to say that, it sounds a little bit harsh, but I'm not interested in that either.
So, really nothing to say about it. Maybe 80 per cent of the cameras are only here
because of these answers - that's a waste of time then.
But, yeah, that's it.
Can we check then on his fitness at least?
Is he available for this cup game against Everton?
Same with Salah as well, and is Virgil van Dijk ready to start?
Mo and Phil are not available, so it's not possible.
With Virgil, it's different, we have to see. He's obviously healthy.
No, I have to make a decision for this game, but it's not finally done,
so we'll see what we do with him,
it's clear that centre-half is a position that usually needs to...
be tuned to the rest of the team, the kind of defending, stuff like that,
but of course I can imagine that everyone is kind of desperate to see him on the pitch.
I said it before, from our point of view there's no rush in the situation,
it's much more important how many good games he can play for us
than how many, and when it starts.
But, yeah, not decided, it's how it always is in this period,
so we have to wait a little bit for last updates on each position
and then we'll make the line-up,
but the line-up will be a line-up which...
..shows all the respect we have for the FA Cup.
I know that a few people said I don't respect cup competitions and stuff like that,
but that's actually not the truth, so maybe we have to make it a little bit more obvious.
Jürgen, you've said in the past that you don't feel pressure to win trophies,
but having been here for a few seasons
do you feel now your squad is more ready and capable of winning them?
No, I have pressure to win trophies of course, but I don't feel it really because it's a fact.
So it's nothing you feel, it's something you know, that's the only thing I said about that.
We were capable of winning trophies in my first season here,
in the second season we would have been as well,
didn't do too well in the cup competitions,
Carabao Cup we were in the semi-final again,
FA Cup, I don't exactly when we left that competition,
but, no, we don't waste opportunities, we want to be as successful as possible
in all what we are doing. So this is a very big opportunity,
and that means of course we are really spot-on, we really want to go,
we know about the importance, that's all clear,
but then there is an opponent probably with similar targets.
And we have to respect that first.
So to talk about winning something before you play the first round
already sounds a little disrespectful. We know that it will be a tough game,
but for Everton as well, that's the most important news maybe.
We will try everything to get into the next round, that's all we are thinking about.
Is it even more important given the position
in the league at the moment, the cup competitions?
It's always important, I don't think anyone would say, if you are first in the table,
"Come on, who wants to be the FA Cup winner?"
It's a big competition, very, very big, that's clear.
That doesn't mean anything, to be honest, it's just another opportunity for us
and a very, very good one, but like I said, first of all we have to play our first round
and that's against Everton, and I think so far we showed in all the games we played
that we really want to win, I don't think the boys ever left any doubt.
So that's good, but that's what we have to show again.
Jürgen, we all know in footballing terms how important finishing in the top four is,
and financial terms as well, these days,
how important to you though is it to win that first piece of silverware?
And these days obviously the cup competitions offer a better opportunity.
Well, very important, but it's not in my hands to judge all these things.
We have only to be as successful as possible, and that's what we really try every day,
we try to improve, to develop our game, to be more unpredictable,
to be more of a goal threat, defending better - that's what you always do.
And in this league obviously, and in this cup competition, the FA Cup,
there are only top teams around, so you need to be ready every three days
and that's what we showed so far pretty much, in this season especially,
and we have to do it again. But it's not that you can dream every day,
the dream of winning silverware is more a given thing,
so you know you want to have it, and we all know how desperate our supporters are
to get something. They can believe me, we have exactly the same mood,
we're exactly as greedy on things like that as they all are,
and that's all there is to say about it, but we have to prove it on the pitch,
I cannot win the FA Cup in the press conference, so we have to be really good
in the games and that's first of all, and if we go through another top team will be waiting.
And then another one. So that's how it is, we need to be ready always,
but to be honest it doesn't help if you make it too big before a game,
because like I said, pressure is a fact, but to feel it all the time is not allowed.
You have to use it much more, and we have to use the quality of our players,
use the quality of the squad, and it should be successful at the end,
and that's what I said, I think we are on a good way, but we have to prove it every day.
Would you expect a different tactical approach in this game from Everton
than you saw a few weeks back, given that it is a knockout competition?
They changed already, I don't know, Sam is not long enough at Everton
that I can judge it really well, but when we made the analysis,
apart from our game, in all the other games they had a more offensive action
than they had against us. So was it only because of our strength,
was it because they had not been together long?
I don't know exactly, it's not long enough to judge it,
but, yes, they will look for that chance, they will go for scoring a goal,
that's the only way, or they'll say, "Let's play again."
But I think it's not important what Everton is doing,
because we always have to influence in the game,
with what we are doing. Even if they have an offensive approach, if we play like we want to
then we will have more possession than Everton, probably.
If Everton had more possession than us tomorrow I think that would be a surprise,
so maybe this is the only part we could be a little bit prepared for,
but that means then there is a counter-attacking threat, Bolasie is back,
that's a big boost for them,
so they can make a few changes and they still have a good squad,
they were on a really good run in the league,
I think they lost the last two games, but that's not too important,
it's a cup competition and it's isolated from the season,
it's much more opportunity than pressure, especially for the team who...
People say they are not the favourites or whatever,
but I think in a cup tie there are no real favourites, you need to be ready for it,
and that we play at Anfield must be a big boost for us as well,
and I hope we can use that then. The style of play of Everton, I don't know exactly,
but it depends what we do, 100 per cent.
Jürgen, given that you have nine days before you play City in the league,
I know it's been a very busy period,
but does that mean the strongest side will start against Everton?
Yeah.
That's nothing to do with the City game, to be honest. OK, if we played two days later,
I should consider it, but nothing to do with the City game.
We always do that, by the way, or try to do it.
And afterwards we get judged and we say it was the wrong line-up or the right line-up.
That's our life, no problem with that.
Yeah, it will be the strongest line-up, for sure.
Just wondering, it's a time when players pick up injuries,
you've had so many games on the trot,
is there also a slight frustration, Jürgen, that you're probably not able to integrate
certain players that you might want to integrate into the side,
or be forced to integrate into the side, as quickly as you would have wanted,
or too quickly, would have wanted a bit more time to work, for instance,
with one or two players that might be drafted in because of the injury problems?
You're speaking in particular about who?
Well, I was thinking about Dominic Solanke, for instance,
who came in against Burnley, tough game, difficult conditions,
and may be called upon again, but maybe you haven't had the time,
with all the games coming rat-a-tat,
to work in terms of working him in with the rest of the players?
No, no, each game for Dom is very important, he was really busy in that game,
I'm not 100 per cent sure, we got a lot of numbers after the game
but I think he had 12.5km, so that's pretty rare for a striker, that's quite lively.
Helped us a lot in that game. He will score in the future, no doubt about that,
no doubt, not a shadow of a doubt about that,
and in this moment he gets experience, that's how it is.
A player like Dom, for him it's perfect,
if he can play as much as possible, that's really important.
For other players, so far, OK, Hendo and Alberto is not too cool
but they are really on the way back,
so after Everton they can be part of parts of team training, that helps us,
so we will see what that means for the City game.
They are really on a good way, the two long-term, Adam is now back for a few weeks,
he could play at Burnley, and how he played at Burnley was perfect for him
and brilliant for us, and...
Yeah, Mo and Phil are not big injuries, to be honest,
but it's only a week, that's the problem.
We were quite lucky when I heard about the diagnosis and when they are back,
you think, "OK, thank God, that was lucky."
Because usually in this period of time, when you get an injury you are out
for four weeks, five weeks, that's like 20 games!
So now we talk about two games, nobody wants that, especially with the cup game,
but we cannot change that of course, and so far it was OK.
Always when you bring in other players like...
Alberto Moreno played a fantastic season so far and then, for Robbo,
a quite hard time, but he could learn a lot in this time, and now he uses what he learned.
So that's good as well. Each situation always hides a chance for somebody else,
and as long as we can react, as long as we can bring 11 players
then we always have a solution.
If it's then the best one... It's the best one for the moment, for sure,
if it's the best one in January I don't know,
but it's all OK so far. We have to keep on going, we have to use all the boys,
we used pretty much all of them so far, and that helped all of them.
Do you have a timescale on Phil's injury in terms of when he's due to be back?
Because obviously he missed the whole of August with a back injury,
he's now injured at the start of January when the transfer window's open,
people will say it looks suspicious that he's injured during these two periods.
< Are you saying that?
Yeah, I'm saying that, yeah. It's coincidental, maybe...
Suspicious or coincidental?
Coincidental then, I said coincidental.
You said suspicious.
I apologise for using the word "suspicious".
You want to answer the question?
LAUGHTER
I lost it halfway. Sorry, so what's the problem?
- When I think Phil is back? - Yeah.
I think he is in a bunch of available players for the City game.
That's the 14th of January, right?
Yeah, I think so.
Can I ask you as well, the policy on the goalkeepers for the FA Cup,
Danny Ward played the Carabao Cup, he's hardly had any action,
what's your thinking, is it still to rotate Simon and Loris or...?
Yeah, Loris will start.
I'm pretty sure, I have to ask John Achterberg, but I think Wardy is sub.
Which means Simon has a little break, that's it.
What will be the plan for Danny going forward then?
Because he's not played much, only a sub for this game,
is there a chance for him to go out on loan?
The plan for Wardy is a plan I speak to him about,
before I speak to the press about it.
So, all good so far, Danny is a young, very skilled goalkeeper
with a lot of potential, that means space for improvement,
and, yeah, that's it, and we are quite...
desperate to work on that together with him.
We'd like to do that, but we have to see, nothing...
With all the requests so far from other clubs for loans or stuff like that,
like I said, in the January transfer window,
everybody is acting like their season is already finished,
so now we can get all the players
because you didn't need them in the first part of the season often enough, or something.
But it's a long season, a lot of games to come still, in a shorter period of time,
so there is enough to do for all of the boys, so no rush in that.
We cannot help other clubs before we think about ourselves, so that's all.
Everyone's happy? OK, guys.
Thank you very much.