Danny Rohl has spoken to the media after the win over St Mirren at Ibrox. Here is every word he said at his post-match presser.
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Danny, your thoughts on a crucial three points?
Yeah, a tough one. I think when you look back to this year when we played against them, we couldn't win these games. I think 75 minutes, we played a fantastic game today in ball possession and against the ball. Fully deserved the 2-0, we have the chance for the 3-0. And then it's football. One moment you concede a goal, which is always possible against this team because they are very strong, they have a good size, very physical. Then in the end you cross all the fingers that you come over the line and we did. And this is fantastic, the next three points for the table. And now I think it was a good finish in the year and now we have hopefully a good start in the year.
Is there any update on John Souttar’s contract?
At first I think I was really happy. I think we missed Dujon today, but it was about load management. It was not possible to give him today again minutes after a long, long injury. And John did well. It was also not easy to sub him out, but it was again, I have to protect him for a new injury. It's always not easy, but I think he showed good quality in building up, but also against the ball, very strong. We are in talks, we are clear what we want to do with him and let's see now in which direction it goes. But I am very positive and hopefully more players are back for the next game.
Danny, do you sense there is a growing feeling of belief within the squad that we can go on and win the title this season?
Yes, the belief is there that we can win games. I think when I took over the group, the belief to win games was not so high at the moment. You look in the dressing room and they ‘ask when is the next game?’ And I think this is great. But it's a long, long, long journey to go. We spoke about making the next step, we make the next step. In football it's not about two or three games, it's about ten, eleven games to be consistently and consistently. At the moment we are doing this. I am really happy today how we played in possession, 75 minutes, a huge step forward against a very good organised team. Not easy to break them down, but we created a lot of good moments. You see as well, Scott, with the set play we score more and more. I think this is also important. We know it's not just about going after possession or after transition moments. You need a set play. This is what we are doing at the moment. Everything goes in the right direction, but we cannot do one more step less. Now we have to do more steps forward to be successful.
Danny, how strong do you think the team is for Celtic on Saturday? Do you think you can go there and win?
Our belief is there. When we look at the moment, except from the 2-1 defeat, we took a lot of points. We had some great performances, we had also some performances where not everything was good. Now we go with confidence. It's a huge game, but we are prepared for this. I think this is what we want to see. In this game it's important that we are strong. I think it's important that refs are strong in this game as well. If we do this, we will have a fantastic game.
What's changed for Youssef in the last few weeks?
First of all, I really enjoyed the atmosphere in the stadium. It goes exactly in the direction we want to have. Very positive, the crowd was there. In the last 10 minutes, everyone was a little bit nervous, everyone wanted to win. What I really liked today was the reaction after I subbed Youssef out. He got a lot of criticism. I know this, it's not easy for him. But I told him, you have to put a lot of effort in and then the people will recognise this. If you do this, continue, then I believe also the goals will come. He gives us today a lift. He was a link player, we could take him as a target player. He comes between the line, he was aggressive in one-against-one situations. But it's a first step, not more. If you continue like this, then we will also develop this player. I think this is generally a part that we have a lot of players that are growing at the moment. Let's do and continue like this.
Is Thelo starting now to take on more of the instructions you've been giving him since you came in?
I think the first thing we did was I changed his position from left to right. The reason was, on the left side, he was too often in a closed body position. He could never accelerate the game. At the moment, on the right side, he is more open up. He can accelerate the game more and it gives us a lift in front. It helps him. You see his physical side in this league as well. He can carry the ball and he plays with less touches. On the left side, he has too many touches. At the moment, it goes again in a direction. I think today, to put Conor out after a great performance was also not easy. He ran 15 kilometres in the last game. It was massive. You have to manage the group, but on the other side, you have to continue the good momentum. Let's go forward and prepare for the next game. I'm looking forward to this game.
Danny, the transfer window opens in a couple of days' time. Do you hope that you will have someone in soon?
No, I think we know the window is not easy, but we are on front foot. What it means at the end, let's see. We cannot influence everything, but we are at the moment clear. We know that in some positions, we have to wait for the right timing. I see that we are really convinced of what we want to do. At the moment, we are straight.
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