What is your assessment of pre-season so far and this week seeing international players return?
It has been pretty good, pretty solid. Tour was good and well organised, less disruptive than last season's pre-season in terms of training. The games were really good and each game was a little bit more of a challenge for us and conditions were tough. Players got through it really well and like you say we've got the internationals back this week.
We've had a really good week of training with them back, they help with the quality and intensity of our training. The key thing for us is getting up to date. We've got 10 days to go, we've put in a good block of work and for the most part everyone is pretty healthy which from our point of view is the most important thing.
Do you feel in a better place now compared to last year?
I feel better prepared for sure because this time last year there were still a lot of things happening, comings and goings. Like I said, our pre-season tour was pretty disruptive and we probably didn't have the games we wanted to. It was little bit of a leap into the unknown whereas I think it feels like we're better prepared.
The training sessions have gone up a notch this year compared to last year and that's because of player familiarity and the coaches we have. I think everyone thinks they've had a fantastic pre-season but until we get to that first game none of us really know. As I sit here right now, I think we're well prepared.
Is there any truth in the Dominic Solanke talk and is there anything you can add from your side that he's maybe the player or striker you've been looking to bring in since Harry Kane left the club last year?
I don't think we've been looking to replace Harry. I think I said a number of times last year you can't replace a generational player and there's a reason they stand apart. It's fair to say front third is an area we really believe we need to reinforce this year. We've been working hard to try and get the right kind of players into those areas we need for another challenging season ahead.
We're back in Europe, which means more games, and the one thing coming out of last year when we had disruptions in terms of injuries or suspensions there was a real drop off and we want to sort of try and mitigate that this year by having a stronger squad to cope with everything we do.
Emerson Royal potentially might be moving to Italy, is there truth behind that or is he someone you're willing to let go?
I think me speculating around these things is a bit like the treasurer or what do you call them here, the [chancellor of the] exchequer, Twitter or X could into meltdown if I speculate, like stock market could crash, if I speculate about things.
Fair to say those kinds of things will get resolved. It is a bit difficult for me as I don’t have control over it. Like I said, I am hopeful over next few days been some resolutions for ins and outs.
Richarlison maybe had a bit of a uncertain future but he's come out and said he wants to stay at Tottenham, how do you feel about him saying that and where does his future lie with what's going on?
Yes, not really sure where the uncertain future comes from. Not on my behalf. When he was fit, he played all the time and he played well. But it was quite evident when he was missing, we had to play Sonny in there and cover areas. This is not about replacing Richy, for us, it is about adding to our squad.
We want to get stronger from every transfer window we’ve had and from my perspective, I’d say Richy is part of what we want to build here. Last year, when he played, he was very, very good for us and hopefully this year we keep him healthy and he plays more. Having more quality and depth in that front third means we hopefully protect our players a bit more and cover our absences when they are not there.
Can Richarlison thrive with another No.9 in the squad?
I don’t see why that would hamper him. I’d like to see us strong as a team and I am sure every player here wants us to get better. If you want to be a club that challengers for trophies, you need to be a strong squad and that means having good quality players all over the park. I certainly, as I said, saw evidence last year that absences cost us and I want to try to mitigate that.
Players who face uncertain futures such as maybe Oliver Skipp and Manor Solomon, how are they dealing with it and how do you expect them to deal with it?
A lot of those things are kind of in the player’s hands, where they see themselves and what they want from their careers. I have always had the same sort of thought process on those things. When they are with us, they are with us. That doesn’t mean things will change and you have to embrace and accept that as a manager that things change, while they are here, they are here.
A lot of things dictate themselves and I do think that depending on the individual players, they’ve got a career that they have to manage themselves. Whether they think that this is the right place to keep progressing. I’ve always respected that a lot of those decisions also come down to them.
What are expectations from the fans and from yourself for this year?
The fans expectations every year are they want to see their club winning and being successful. I don't think that should change or diminish just because of change. Particularly at this football club, it is a big football club and has been there or thereabouts for a very long time.
I would like to think our fans are optimistic about the season ahead, but for me it still comes down to the basic core principles of we need to improve on last year. On the areas where we fell short and build on the areas where we did really well because what we do know in the Premier League is the competition doesn't stand still. The teams ahead of us and the teams around or behind us don't stay in the same place necessarily, they improve so for us, if we don't improve, we lose ground from where we are.
We need to try to improve at a greater rate than the opposition and that's what we want to do. We want to push on from last year and if we can improve our football, be more consistent then I think it will put us in a decent place.
Harry Kane played one and only game for you this time last year, scored a hat-trick, did it give a glimpse into what he could do?
I think he score more than a hat-trick, I think he got four or five and people were questioning whether I could fit him into my system! I reckon he did alright in that game. Look, he's a quality player and he proved that last year, went to the Bundesliga and broke records. Outstanding player and I hope it is a good day for him tomorrow in terms of before the game, not during the game, because he is a generational player.
These players, sometimes it is not in a nice, neat bow where they can say goodbye and get acknowledged in the right way. So, I am sure our fans will give him the welcome he deserves and I am sure he will appreciate it. Yeah, it should be a good day for him until the whistle goes and then hopefully we make it a bit more miserable for him (smile).
What's the latest on the injury front and is Richarlison back in training yet?
The main three injuries we had through pre-season were Richy, Destiny [Udogie] and Fraser Forster, they missed the back end of last year and have all come back at different stages. Destiny has had a good two-week block of training so he will play a part tomorrow, which is a positive for us.
Richy and Fraser have got back into training this week and both had a good block of training. They won't feature tomorrow but with another week's training before the start of the season hopefully they'll be in a good place. Everyone else has had a pretty good pre-season.
Are the internationals who have just returned in a position to start tomorrow?
They'll play. It is probably not ideal but we'll get them a game before our first fixture and they've come back in a good condition. They've all looked after themselves and again they have had a good week of training. They'll get some minutes tomorrow, unlikely to start the game but we'll try get them some minutes tomorrow and our first game is Monday night so we'll have a few extra days of training.
Alfie Devine's had a good pre-season is the plan for him to stay with squad or loan him out again?
We'll have a look at it really closely. I agree, Alfie has had a really good pre-season and again compare it to last year and he's definitely developed. Part of that is probably because he's played senior football last year on loan. A lot of them will be judged with what outs we have between now and the start of the season.
I wouldn't want to keep him with us unless I really felt he can get some significant game time because I don't want to startle his development because he is a player that can make an impact here at Spurs. Fair to say him and the other younger guys, Jamie Donley, Will Lankshear have made an impression both in the way they have trained and the way they have played games. We'll have a close look at what the next steps are.
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