Ruben: We've missed Old Trafford!

It’s our first M16 date in the diary for almost a month, since the 4-2 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on 25 October.

That success versus the Seagulls saw us claim our fourth win in a row at the Theatre of Dreams, with Burnley, Chelsea and Sunderland also vanquished on their visits.

Our uptick in home form this term has been a clear positive for the boss, who is keen to maintain the record when the Toffees come to town…

Ruben, after the international break we always wait and see how the players report back. How is everybody?
“I think everybody is fine, is ready to go. Now it’s about changing the mindset. Forget a little bit about the national team, focus on our league understanding that we need to start at the first minute, 100 miles an hour to be ready for the game. We work today already, we analyse the last game to try to close that chapter. Now we’re preparing for the Everton game. It’s going to be a tough game.”

It seemed everyone was in great spirits, back together as a unit. The atmosphere sounds fantastic right now?
“Yes, but we need to understand it’s by winning games, so let’s do everything to win games. We know that Old Trafford is going to be in full spirit. They just want us to run, to fight, and then to play good football, so we will try to do that.”

We heard you in the press conference on the availability of Sesko, Mainoo and Maguire. We also heard you touch a little bit on Lisandro Martinez there. Great to see him back in full training. How is he and when do you think he will be available?
“I think he’s almost ready to play. I don’t know if he’s going to be in this next game, but his spirit, his way of training, the way he pushed his team-mates and the way he plays the game is so important for us, but he needs to be careful. He has players in his position that are playing really well. That is my responsibility, that is my decision but I think he’s ready to start going to games.”

We play on Monday night, in this case is it beneficial to have a bit longer after the internationals with more time on the training pitches?
“That is a good thing, but you want to play at the weekend because of our fans. That is the main thing. I understand nowadays this is a business and we need to respect that also – the TV companies give us a lot of money to control that but I prefer to play at weekends because it’s a family moment. Old Trafford is always full, so it’s going to be a very good moment.”

After successive away games it must be really good to get back to the Theatre of Dreams in front of our own fans?
“That is the best thing, because in the recent past it was hard to play at home. But nowadays you miss playing at home, that is a feeling we should have in our club. I’m really excited to be back playing at home and the players also. We need to continue winning at home.”

What do you expect of Everton when they visit?
“Great manager, great team. Then you need to forget the results. I watch every game Everton did and they lost some games where they deserved so much more, a bit like us. So it’s going to be a really tough match and we need to be ready for that and we will be.”