John Mousinho chats to The News following the Blues' pre-season defeat at Plough Lane
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00:00 Jon, obviously a 1-0 defeat to AFC Wimbledon tonight, what do you make of that game?
00:05 Yes, a really good run out I think for the lads. A few of them got a lot more minutes than they've had in the past few weeks.
00:11 So, stepping up again in terms of fitness. In terms of the result, I think it was probably about right.
00:16 I thought AFC deserved it. I didn't think we did quite enough. We had quite a few chances in the second half but couldn't really convert anything.
00:22 I think it's a pretty good bump in the road for us with the success that we had at the weekend.
00:30 The message at the weekend was, and it is again tonight, we're not going to get too carried away with pre-season games either way.
00:36 In terms of results, the performances are the most important thing. There are a few things that we need to work on after tonight.
00:41 I think we were a bit sloppy in possession a lot of the time and just gave the ball away far too much and the ball broke down on us in the final third.
00:48 There's a huge amount to work on, which again is a good spot to be in. You don't want the final product to be ready to go I think 10 days before the start of the season.
00:59 But on the same token, there's still plenty to do.
01:01 Exactly, it shows you can't score nine goals one week and expect it every week.
01:05 No, and a good one. As we spoke after the game, it wasn't the be all and end all of the weekend.
01:12 I thought it was a really good performance and we did plenty of things right. Some of those we didn't get quite right tonight.
01:18 Obviously against a different opposition, a different test and that's what we're going to come up against.
01:22 I said to the lads before the game, this is going to be a very, very different test from the weekend and you're going to have to step up.
01:29 And yes, some did and it's a really interesting spot I think that we're going into the weekend in.
01:35 You actually started off quite well. The goals seemed to change your team's performance as well.
01:39 Yes, for the first 15 minutes I thought we were really good and we didn't necessarily threaten the goal quite enough.
01:45 We did in the second half and probably should have scored a couple.
01:48 But yes, it was probably a bit disappointing when we did go a goal down and they went a bit more direct and hit the number 8 on the diagonal.
01:56 I think the number 10 was excellent in terms of his pace and his running in behind.
02:00 Yes, we were slightly on the back foot there.
02:03 Again, a good learning curve for the lads because when those things do go against you in games, we don't want to go on the back foot.
02:09 We want to make sure that we are still aggressive and still on the front foot and do the right things.
02:14 You've been linked with Tino Angelini from Chelsea. What's the situation there?
02:17 Yes, I think Tino's an excellent player and we know a lot about him obviously because of the connection with John.
02:23 So I think Tino's going to have quite a few options and if we're one of them, then that would be great for us.
02:30 But yes, it's much more of a wait and see for us at the moment with Tino.
02:33 Have you got a time frame of when you want to find out?
02:35 No, not at the moment. We're not looking at weeks. We're hopefully looking at days.
02:39 But yes, it's not for us to dictate to Chelsea how that one goes.
02:44 So yes, if Chelsea do decide to let him out, then hopefully we'd like to be in the mix.
02:48 What would he bring to Pogba if he did arrive?
02:50 I think he's an excellent player. He's got a lot of quality.
02:53 He can break through lines and I think he's played in the Premier League and he probably brings us a bit of that quality.
02:59 And if he can find consistency in his game, then yes, probably something special and a bit different.
03:06 And in terms of the goalkeeper, you were hopeful of it being wrapped up today?
03:09 Yes, again, hopefully within the next couple of days.
03:12 I think tomorrow we're going to be able to have that one wrapped up.
03:16 So I'm still thinking of the final stages. Hopefully there's a bit of news after the game.
03:20 But yes, once we've done that, then that's that position ticked off.
03:23 So potentially the final two pieces of the jigsaw could happen by the end of the week?
03:28 Possibly, yes. And we'll see how they develop.
03:31 I think there's still scope in those two positions.
03:36 But yes, hopefully if the goalkeeper is done, we'll see what it is in the final position and then go from there.
03:41 Obviously, two of them were missing tonight through knocks in the goals?
03:44 Yes, Colby was just a bit fatigued after the weekend.
03:47 It was his first 60 minutes that he played after the 45 against Europa.
03:51 So yes, we want to manage him properly and make sure that he doesn't break down.
03:54 And then Sean Raggett picked up a back spasm yesterday.
03:57 He trained today with a group this afternoon, but we didn't feel it was the right thing for him to do to travel,
04:01 sit on the coach for four hours altogether.
04:03 So yes, we decided that it was best for him to stay at home.
04:06 Is Colby locked to be OK for Saturday?
04:07 I think he should be. He went out and did the warm-up and did a bit of work with the physio.
04:11 Again, we're going to be sensible with him and make sure we manage him.
04:13 But hopefully he'll be back for the weekend.
04:15 And Sean?
04:16 Yes, Sean should be fine for the weekend. Having trained today, he got through it and spoke to him after.
04:20 So as long as that back doesn't lock up again, then he'll be fine for Thursday and for the weekend as well.
04:24 And there was a bit of worry in seeing Paddy Lane limp off there later on.
04:27 Yes, he didn't look great.
04:29 I think initially he was struggling to put weight through his foot, but by the time he got to the sideline,
04:33 he seemed a lot better and he seemed a lot happier with it.
04:35 So I'll see what the physio says. It's half an hour post-incident.
04:39 So we will have a good look at that.
04:41 And yes, obviously he's in the hands of the physios now.
04:43 With the Bristol City game in the last friendly of the summer, how will you approach that?
04:47 I think the most important thing for us is to make sure that everybody's topped up in terms of minutes
04:52 and ready to go for the opening day of the season.
04:54 And we need to try and make sure that we string at least a good performance together,
05:00 give us a bit of momentum going into that opening day, get us used to fratting, get a few of the new signings used to fratting.
05:06 So I think we've got to take stock of what's happened tonight with injuries in particular
05:11 and just see what the situation is with all of that before we go into it.
05:15 But we will be approaching it as close to a league game as you can.
05:18 When will you start seeing your first team line-up for the first game of the season on Saturday?
05:24 I think that's probably something we have to discuss as a coaching staff over the next couple of days.
05:30 What we wanted to do was make sure that we got tonight out of the way
05:34 and reassess everything after the final whistle and see where we are, particularly in terms of injuries.
05:40 I think it's a good question. We'll probably see Saturday and then you'll get the answer a week after.
05:45 Thank you.