Poya Asbaghi addressed the local media prior to our Sky Bet Championship game with Middlesbrough on Saturday.
ON BUILDING MOMENTUM
“It’s about finding a level of consistency in performances that we have had recently. We have to repeat what we are doing. Against Hull, we didn’t only achieve one thing; we didn’t only defend well or only attack well – we did both, and I think, for sure, sometimes this is difficult in games.
“But the more games we can make those kind of performances, of course that’s going to increase our chance to keep having this run.”
ON BELIEF IN THE SQUAD
“I think the confidence is in that we feel we can win football games and when you see after a game that you not only played well but also collect three points, as a player and a team, the level of confidence grows a lot.
“You can see that already what has happened to some of our players after the QPR game and you can see it as well after the Hull game, and hopefully that is something that we can use in a good way.”
ON CONSISTENCY
“We want to win as many games as possible. Maybe we will not be able to win every game that is left or make five wins in a row. Of course, that is what everyone wants, but it’s about finding a consistency and the consistency doesn’t always mean you win six games in a row.
“It’s about being consistent over time and, for us, we’re feeling that we’re finding that consistency in defence – we have done it in the last month; we’re a solid team and not so easy to create chances against.
“When we mix that with what we showed against Hull in offence, then we’re a good team to win games. If we can keep up with these performances, even if we get a bump in the road here and there, hopefully over time, we have shown consistency in winning games and get enough points that we need.”
ON PLAYER PAST EXPERIENCE
“Experience is always good if you learn how to use it. We don’t have so many players in the squad with a lot of experience from the Championship – they’re young players, but we have a couple of players who have been in this situation before, and of course their experience is definitely something we need to take advantage of and spread amongst the rest of the players as well.”
ON MIDDLESBROUGH GAME
“Of course, you have to respect what the opponents are good at, but you cannot do it too much and when kick-off comes stand there and admire your opponents. You have to be aware of their strengths but be confident that you can expose their weaknesses as well.
“That kind of balance is vital for us in any game, especially Middlesbrough.
“We have a lot of home games left – we have played more away from home. This is one of the home games, when I look at the schedule, we have a couple that will be tough games – this will definitely be one of them.
“Middlesbrough are in good form, and you can see this is the manager’s team; he has done well. They are structured and an aggressive team with a lot of offensive quality, so, as I said, the respect for Middlesbrough is there.
“But I believe that if we were about to play against them a couple of weeks ago, it would be one thing. I’m happy that we get them now because we have the confidence from our recent performances knowing we can be the team that exposes their weaknesses as well.”
ON INJURIES
“We haven’t picked up any new injuries. It’s all about freshness right now. We have the cases of players who have been injured since before – there’s no change there, but it’s about watching and seeing which players are fresh.
“I’m happy that these last weeks we got more players back than we lost and I think it shows on the pitch when we are playing games right now.
“All the players are improving and if any of them are able to come back for Saturday, it’s still too early to say.”
