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TranscriptThe boss discusses pressure and some of his big-name players in the embargoed section of his press conference...
Neil Custis: Can I just ask how have you personally found all of the scrutiny and debate about your position? OGS: There's always pressure on you when you manage Man United. That's something I had to think about when I accepted the role. Do I have what it takes to be in such a situation? Can you handle setbacks? Can you handle success? and I think I can. I think I can in a good way. I've got a great staff around me, fantastic staff who I use as sparring partners for discussions even the conversation with the club it goes on all the time. It's a continuous open dialogue. When you come to work the next day, or if you have a day off, you see players and the quality you have and you want to work with them. David McDonnell: Just back on David De Gea, he does seem to be from the outside to be undroppable when he makes mistakes. That was a high-profile mistake mid-week. Is that the case, is he undroppable? And what does Dean Henderson have to do to get a run? OGS: Of course, you want every player to play well and feel that you have competition and I have competition in every single position. David knows that Dean Henderson is a fantastic keeper and Dean knows that David is fantastic keeper so the two of them are fighting for one spot. This may be different for the outfielders, you can play in different positions. But as a manager you want all the players to feel that they have to perform to really move this team and myself forward. James Ducker: Just wanted to ask you about Bruno who has obviously won yet another player of the month award. Can you give us some specific examples of just how he has raised standards on and off the pitch for you? And do you feel that the challenge is for others to get to Bruno’s level? In the wider sense, do you feel he really merits comparison with De Bruyne among the world’s very best midfielders now? OGS: Bruno gets his individual awards and fairly so. He's been fantastic. The influence he's made coming into the club, it just shows in the points tally that we've had since he arrived and his contribution to that, so he deserves the praise that he gets. He knows as well that he's come into a team that makes him able to play on his best skills and attributes. On the pitch he can express himself and he can take his risks because he's got players around him that make the runs for him. The movement always creates the pass or releases that pass. And he's got players there that really rate him and he rates them. He's got a winning mentality, he’s never satisfied. He wants to improve. He wants to be better. You can you see the warm-up today, how focused he is, just on the drills that the fitness coaches are doing. He wants to do it right, he wants to be quicker, he wants to be stronger and that rubs off on other players. But it's not like Bruno is the only one that has got this attribute. Of course it helps when the results come and the performance come, as Bruno has had. Samuel Luckhurst: Paul had a very good impact in midweek off the bench, will he be considered for selection from the start against City? And given the situation do you think he needs to put out a statement clarifying the situation after what Mino said at the start of the week? OGS: I think I said during the week that this is a team game and Paul is part of this team. He's very focused on contributing when he's here. He's got the hunger and appetite to play and wants to play. He wants to train and he trains. There's been other players that have been refusing to train and refusing to play - they're not here anymore of course - but Paul's not once done that. He's just focused on performing when he gets a chance. That's the good thing about Paul. He's got the quality but he’s also got the desire to do well when he comes on, like he did against Leipzig. He had a positive impact. The short answer to your question is he's part of the squad for tomorrow. Rob Dawson: Not many managers have got good records against Pep Guardiola, obviously you have, what is it that you’ve seen or found when you’ve come up against his teams that you’ve managed to take advantage of do you think? OGS: Do you know why managers don't have a good record against Pep's teams? It's because Pep has a fantastic team and he's a fantastic manager. It's not me having a good record against him, it's my players, it’s my team and it’s my coaching staff as well as we sit together and we find a way that's the right one. We've had margins with us in those games. There's fine margins in most games of football. I would never ever say that I have because me and Pep, we don't play. If I'd played maybe I would've tackled him or dribbled him... I think I beat him, I think he played in the Euro 2000 for Spain, I'm not sure... maybe because we won 1-0 maybe that's the only win I've got against him. I'll have to look at the team sheets now. Ian Ladyman: The Manchester United teams that you played in and represented would begin every season with one aim, which was to win the Premier League. Did you have the mindset when you started this season? And do you have that now? OGS: The focus is always to win and improve. At Man United you should always aim to win trophies. And, of course, with the last three seasons, as they have been, there's been two teams far ahead of the rest of the pack. But I believe during the season or since the turn of the new year that this team is improving and that we can put up a challenge. Of course we need to improve on last season. I don't think any team will run away with it. I go into every single game wanting to win and feeling that we can win, so maybe that's the answer to your question. If you win every game, you end up with a trophy.