FULL PRESS CONFERENCE | Frank Lampard and Victor Torp look ahead to Coventry's trip to Norwich 💬

How do you rate the team's performances? Very nice to be unbeaten, that's for sure. Plymouth obviously very good, great performance and a really strong win. Millwall I thought we deserved to win the game, albeit a difficult game, I was pretty happy I think I said that after the match. We'll be a bit more clinical Cardiff felt a bit more frustrating because of the circumstances of the game. We were not so good in the first half, that can happen, we addressed it in the second and against 10 men we probably wanted more out of the game. Couldn't take the chances so good to be unbeaten, we wanted a bit more but that's what happens and important things to think about in the next one. You looked frustrated at Cardiff, can you put your finger on why that happened? Those performances can happen in this league, we see a lot of potential inconsistencies and we've been here a short time as coaching staff, my staff and some games you can see progression and other games you can see things you don't like so much, it's normal in my job so you have to be ready for that side of it. As I say we corrected some things at half-time which directly resulted in the goal early in the game. I know it was a kick from Oli and the second ball gets us a goal, not a beautiful goal but we have to understand that we can score those goals in this league. We spent the first half playing too deep, too low, too many passes in our own third rather than at the pitch. Those are good things for us to see and try and correct as we go. Another goal from Owinge, you lost with Mason Clarke at some extent. That's been a big miss for us, Efron missing, Millwall and Cardiff because of the threat that he is and was in our first games. We've had to adjust around that. We don't have Hedgie Wright yet as well who can obviously play off the sides to great success here before. So those are good things for us in the way that they're coming back but in the short term we have to find ways around that as well because at the minute Tatsu's scores and his performances have been good since I've been in. Rafa is finding his fitness and hasn't really played other than coming on for five minutes the other day. We've got Fabio but it's an area that we're having to work around a bit in a minute. Jack Madone has been playing on the left side, he's a versatile player. He can play at the midfield and both forward and back can't he? Is he suited to that particular role do you think? For me he can play in different positions because of his level. I think he's a fantastic player and he's got a big high ceiling for me. Of course when he plays on the left maybe he doesn't open up as many opportunities. We've seen him score this season arriving centrally in the box, playing well, playing centrally. I like him there. At the moment he's a player that's having to do that job for us and it can affect the balance of the team and that was one of the issues at Cardiff in the first half. So we have to be creative and find ways around that. You're close to mid-table now, you've seen the squad for a while now. Is that this squad's level do you think or are they capable of better than that? At the moment it is because it's where we're at and it's a reality. There's no point in talking about what could be or should be, it's where we are. It's a squad that's changed in the last couple of seasons. We've seen that from the outside obviously from reaching the play-off final. I think there's many more players in the squad now that started that game for instance. So in that slightly transitional phase I think it's normal maybe that you look and go we want to be better than where we are but the reality is that. So we have to work, us as coaching staff have to work the players themselves because it's quite a young squad in the group. And it's also good for me to start seeing them now it's eight games to see more as we play because training time has been very minimal. Most of our games have been real tight turnaround since we've been in. So that's been challenging in the sense that you see players in-game. So again like Cardiff it's like a training session in the first half where you don't like it so much and you want to correct it but it's in-game. So those are things that are happening at the minute. Our position is a reality, we want to improve it for sure but that will only come with work. Will you be able to get on the pitch today? Yeah we will, we'll find a way to get there. There won't be much today because of the recovery of the players but we'll get out there to go through some basics before the game, some detail. It comes with the time of year, we just have to work around it as best we can. Norwich have had a bit of an up and down time but they seem to be on a run of decent form so it will be a big test? Yeah they're a good team. They're a team that have been in the Premier League recently a few times, up and down. So you can bring a different aspect to a team but playing good football as a team we've had a lot of possession in our game so far. This will be a different challenge for us in terms of the opposition that they are for us. We have to respect them completely, they've got threats in their team which are quite clear to see in terms of their dangerous and their style of play to have a lot of possession. So we'll have to be ready for that. Have you got him on the ground yet? He came out yesterday for his first steps outside, some mobility work to get moving so we're hoping he's back in the next two weeks or so. But it's been a fair time now so I want to be conservative about how I say he'll be on the grass and then he's with us. He has to obviously get his fitness up but the staff have been doing a good job of doing what they can to keep him as fit as he can be without being out there doing the stuff he'll really need to do. So these next week or two will be really important for him. Is Ben Wilson available for you yet? No he's not. He's still getting his fitness and I think we're the goalkeeper. I wasn't It's not easy to comment but you just know from how they have to train that injuries like this you have to be careful on the recovery with the knee and things like that. So he's still finding his way hopefully back soon because having not even worked with Ben so much on the pitch you can see he's an important character in this building and a good high level goalkeeper for us. So it'll be good to have him back. Oliver Dobbin back for ASLEA Games is probably more stretched at Cardiff than the previous two. He made a couple of important saves didn't he? He did. Good for him, good for his confidence. He didn't have much to do in either of the games before that but he'd held himself well and he's a young goalkeeper so there's obviously work to be done and progression to be made and I say that in a positive sense in terms of what we want from him, in terms of how he uses his feet, what kind of passes we want from him because it'll be different to maybe what he'd been asked to do before. Not just We're in the January window, how does that work for you? Have you identified areas you want to look at or have you identified specific players you want to look at? A bit of both. We want to help the squad because I think in the Championship, particularly January is a time where people do make moves, probably more than the Premier League. I'm guessing that a bit but it feels that way. I've worked in this league before and it can be the case. We're aware of where we may want to strengthen and if we can help the team, if the right players are there then that can be a possibility for sure. Is the loan market available to you? It's available to us, it's available to everyone so I think we'll be hopefully measured and pinpointing what type of deal or what type of player and if not we've got a group here that we'll work with. And there's speculation about some of your players. Is that unsettling when that happens in a transfer window when players have been linked with other clubs and moves? I think it's completely normal unfortunately because we live in this modern world, everything is very mobile and social media are very quick to announce everything from rumour all the day. Some players are playing well, some players are not playing so much, we'll be talking about them. That will always be the case this time of year. My thing is our players are our players, we have to keep working. Particularly for me as well coming in here, I'm still learning about some players, some players have not started for us yet. That process is ongoing for us so I want to work with the ones we've got. In that case we're happy with that. Can we add to it? We'll see. But they're our players. The big speculation is that we'll send you around the land and go to Tassler, is there anything in that? I haven't heard that one actually, that's fresh news to me. He's certainly our player and a very good player. How was the Christmas period for you? How did you feel it went over the festive period? It was busy but my family was over here for Christmas and we had a good few days. Obviously a lot of games in a busy period but I enjoyed it. My first time playing on Boxing Day and all that. I enjoyed playing a lot of games. I enjoyed playing those games. So you don't have boxing games there, day games where you played before then? No, never. I'm used to watching them. For me it was nice to play. As I said I'm used to growing up watching the Boxing Day in England and now playing it was a good experience. The last couple of games have been frustrating in a way but you are unbeaten in three now so you feel the team is moving in the right direction? I think in general we're moving in the right direction. As you said, I think especially the first half against Cardiff was not good enough. We know that and we changed it in the half time. We were frustrated after the game that we didn't get the win but as you said unbeaten three games in a row and having two clean sheets as well in those three games I think it's a good sign and I think generally we're moving in the right direction. How has it been with the new coaching staff? Is that all settling down nicely? Yes, I think I enjoyed them coming in and working with them. I think there's a good clarity of what we want and what we don't want and for me it's been nice to get to work with them and learn new things. I enjoyed it so far. Having as a gaffer someone who has such a great career in midfield, is that exciting for you? Of course, we all know what he did as a player. Personally I want to add more goals to my game and I think he certainly had to do that when he played so hopefully that's something that I can add to my game and maybe learn a thing or two. How do you feel your game is coming on? When you first arrived you hit the ground running after that little bit in and out of the team but how do you feel you're coming on? Personally I think I'm improving. I think having played quite a lot of minutes and I think I feel comfortable at the team at the moment and I just want to help the team the way I know I can. Like I said I want to add more goals and more assists to my game and I think the first thing you do is getting in the box and I think I've been doing that in the in the recent games and I think then I know the goals will come and that's what I'm working on to put the chances in. But I think the first step is to make sure that you're up and around the box when we get the chance to score and that's what I'm working on at the moment. Is goals then the main priority because we know you've got a shot, you're capable of hitting the ball aren't you? Yeah, I think during my career I've always scored quite a few goals outside the box but right now I'm focusing on getting in the box and maybe add more goals from inside the box because like you said I know I can score goals from outside the box but I also want to see if I can add more goals to my game from inside the box. You've taken the last two penalties, scored one under quite a lot of pressure and then the second one was saved. Are you still on penalty taking duties? I don't know, Hattie was taking them before me and he's been out injured and then I've taken the last two and I feel quite comfortable and calm in those situations and I will gladly step up and take the next one. Is that decided before the game or is it decided on the moment? I think normally it's decided before the game and then it's also about confidence and I feel like I always have the confidence and I know I have the ability to take a penalty and then normally I feel quite calm and quite confident in those situations. Norwich next, lost to them at home, do you feel you owe them one? I feel like we want to put in a good performance and want to give ourselves the best opportunity to win and we know it's going to be a tough game away from home against a good side but in this league I feel like every game is tough and we want to go there and put in a really good performance and give ourselves the best chances to win the game. And your previous manager is just back in football now with Stoke, they come to the arena in March, are you looking forward to seeing him then? Yeah, I do but I feel for me it's far ahead in the future but good for him, he's back in football and it's going to be a good game but still quite a few games before that and now we take on Cardiff tomorrow. If you can get a result there it'll be four unbeaten, that'll be the first time this season in the championship so that's something to aim for I guess. Yeah for sure we go there to win the game and if we manage that we have four games unbeaten and I think in this league that's what it's all about, it's about putting in performance and pick up the results and pick up the points so that's our aim for tomorrow is to go to Norwich and win a football game.