Philippe Clement on Fabio Silva red card claim, Cortes and Diomande

How did you view the game today?

That the team did a good job, that we started the game well, with good tempo and good actions. After three minutes we could have scored two goals. In football you also need a little bit of luck and that was not on our side today in the finishing, and all respect also to our opponents, who gave their lives to stop the goals, also in the second half by making saves on the goal line. It was a game where we had 90 minutes control. The team went forward to score goals, we didn’t give away almost anything, I think one shot on target. Keeping a clean sheet is also important and we could give minutes to guys who are just in the building, to players who have come out of injury also, to raise their rhythm, and to rest a few players also. It is a positive evening. The other positive thing is to play that kind of game for so many fans, that is maybe the most positive thing of the evening. In that way, I would have wished to give the fans more goals. That is the only thing, if I look for perfection, that would have been even better. We tried to do that.

What did you make of Cortes and Diomande?

Oscar played in a position that is more familiar. Dio played a little bit higher today because of the circumstances and that we are building with Tom Lawrence his minutes. Todd had a knock in the week so we wanted to watch out with that also. They showed good things, they showed they are good players, good technical players and they are now just two weeks here with us. You see they have a good connection with the team, they understand what we want to do. Of course it is not perfect yet and it needs to become more natural but that is normal after two weeks.

Is there a frustration there wasn’t more goals?

You can be frustrated because you don’t attack enough or whatever. No, you need a little bit of luck in football. The really big teams in the world with the best players in the world, they don’t win every game 5-0 or 6-0. You see where we were a few months ago and now… I think we did a good job today. It was not exceptional. We could have scored more goals but the opponent is there to stop you and they did that in a really energetic way today.

In terms of giving players minutes, were you tempted to play Robby McCrorie today?

I had some thoughts about that but finally we decided to do this.

Did you think Fabio could have been sent off in the second half?

No. He got a kick on his leg in that action. You need to look good at the images. He showed me also there were studs on his leg. On top of his leg. I don’t think so. If I had a fear about that I would have made the change directly.

The fans are dreaming about winning everything. Are they right to dream?

Yes, they are right to dream because they are fans so they can dream. It is important to dream in life. I want one thing and that is that my players are focused on the next game. Full focus on that. You can dream in the beginning of the season but as a player, a manager, a member of staff, you need to be in the story in that moment. That is the nice thing to be a fan that you can do those things. I hope that they dream about a lot because I love also the passion they have now and how they are behind the team, how they are helping the team through difficult moments. If they dream about those things they are going to help the team even more in the next couple of months. I hope they dream a lot.

What is the confidence like in the dressing room?

They are not busy with that. They are not busy with that. They are just busy with one thing and that is the next game, or even the next training to show they are ready. It is about that. We had really good players today on the bench or not in the squad. They are not unhappy, they are not depressed because they didn’t play. They know they are in the story of a team and it is about the next training to go full, next game to go full and then step by step going closer to your goals. That is the only way towards success. You can ask me this question a lot of times but I know what the way is to success. That is the only way. People who start to dream, they lose their focus and lose the way towards their goal.

Will it be mentioned before Wednesday that you can go top of the league?

To go top of the league? No. No. I don’t know why I should mention that.

So it won’t be a focus on winning by a certain amount of goals?

It is not only about that game or a certain amount of goals. We play every game to score a lot of goals. It is important in life, and for sure as a manager, you need to control the controllables. We will play to score a lot of goals and all the other games are no different. If I say ‘guys, today we need to score a lot of goals’ that doesn’t mean they are going to score two goals more. It doesn’t work that way. It is about doing the right things on the field to score more goal. Keep your focus.

Is it a big thing for you to consider where you were when you came in and now?

No. For me, the future is important. I am happy that we were comfortable today but I know all the things it takes to be there and stay there. That is the big challenge. It is easy to go to the top in every sport, it is difficult to stay there. The real good ones are the ones who stay there all the time because they keep their focus, they keep doing what they have been doing, they don’t become sloppy, become lazy, don’t make mistakes. That is the challenge we have in the next couple of months, to not be happy with where we are now but be ambitious to become better and grow. Not to become lazy or sloppy.