Eddie's Presser v Leverkusen

Eddie Howe and Nick Woltemade shared the presser and there were no big surprises and in reality it was a fairly bland 30 minutes - mainly because bland is exactly what the questions were.

Eddie wasn't pushed on why we continue to concede late goals, what he thinks is the reason, and what he is doing in training to sort it out and cut it out.

He did say that in-game management needs to improve, but why one of the hacks didn't ask how he intends to do that defeats me.

I'm not asking for Eddie to be harangued in the witness box but these are the type of questions us fans would be asking if we had the chance.

No questions either on Eddie's thoughts on playing Woltemade and Wissa together, the only comment was that Wissa's time needs to be managed between training and minutes.

We are all well aware of that - but what are Eddie's plans when he is match fit?

On the match tomorrow against Leverkusen; Eddie quite rightly stated that any team that can go to the Etihad and win - as Leverkusen did 2.0 - has to be respected.

However what also has to be noticed and respected, this time in our favour, is how open and defensively poor Leverkusen were when losing 7-2 at home to PSG.

Both teams played with 10 men for roughly an hour but that still doesn't excuse some awful defending from the Bundesliga team.

I'll settle for a repeat of that performance and result tomorrow night.

Bayer Leverkusen 2-7 PSG: UEFA Champions League highlights as visitors run riot in Germany and Ousmane Dembele scores on return from injury - Football video - TNT Sports

Big Nick then took questions with the inevitable one being about the 'inflated fee' comments made by Bayern Munich. Nick replied he wasn't bothered and ignored them.

He also said he is doing a lot of extra work in training to cope with the physicality of the Prem, that chances are rarer than in the Bundesliga, but that he has felt part of the team and club from his first day. He came across very well and seems a cracking lad.

Nick was also asked if he'd tapped up any Geordie lasses yet, he hasn't (or so he says), and there were a couple of questions in German from local hacks.

Ich nicht sprekker Deutsch so I haven't a clue what they were about.

So, as I said at the top of the post, a fairly bland presser.

Let's hope the game is far more exciting and we get the win needed to guarantee a place in the play offs - and stay on track for automatic qualification for the knock out stage.

Last Post Will Eddie Play Woltemade & Wissa?

All Posts