Press news in...

We’re back at Colney for JHT’s latest press conference, ahead of NCFC’s trip to QPR this weekend. Live updates coming shortly…
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JHT's presser starts with fitness. Jose Cordoba has trained all week - "it's looking good". The same timeline expected for Liam Gibbs (8-10 weeks).

On Sargent: "To be realistic, it's going to be next year. Very, very optimistic the end of this year. We have to look at the scale of injury, the surgery and so on. But he's responded well and he's in a good mood."

On Nunez: "It's a bit of a puzzle. We have to look at three games in a week, we play again on Tuesday, so there are some decisions to make. It's also dependent on other players. But it's realistic that he can start."

Thorup has been struggling with the flu. "I've had some tough days, and I was struggling the night before the Luton game." He declares himself and Jack Wilshere fit though!

JHT admits there has been "some illness in the group. It is something that's been on our mind for the last couple of weeks. Most of the players look alright."

On whether senior players will be involved for the U21s tonight: "A handful of first-team players will be involved in that one. It's a high-quality youth level, so it's valuable for the players who need minutes."

On Adegboyega: "We have a department taking care of the players out on loan and communicating with them. I had a good talk with Manny about what was important for him, and it was important to have a full season of game time. It's not in our thoughts to call him back, but he's doing well.

On players out of contract in the summer: "There will be some kind of official statement for us when we are ready to do so. It's individual, so it can be different solutions for different players. We know we have to do something in January, but we also have to plan ahead."

On finances: "We started this season with a little bit of a different approach to the transfer market. You can see that without the parachute money we need to create something different. That is particularly with bringing young players in who can gain value. It's about finding a balance.

On Christian Fassnacht: "I will always be careful about talking about these conversations. Fasi is a player for us, and he will be as long as he's under contract. We have selected other players, but we have more than 18 or 20 players available."

On the midfield dilemma: "It's the best possible dilemma to have as a football coach. When we had no players available, that was the worst dilemma to be in. It's all about competition, it's about who performs best in training and games. Of course Kenny will be in there, but how do we shape it around him?"

On if consistency is needed in team selection: "Not always. What we've seen is that Emiliano (Marcondes) has done really well, so every time someone is out there is an opportunity. I struggle to see the competition as a negative thing."

On QPR: "They can get results at home. They started the season trying to be dominant in games, but then they lost a couple of games and they needed to be a little bit more pragmatic. They could easily have beaten Watford. If we don't perform then we won't get points."

On the difference between home and away: "Every team in the world feels safer at home. Of course that gives us some extra support and motivation, but away from home we try to play with the same approach and attitude. We've done that okay in our recent away games."

On away games: "It's part of the evolution. The most difficult thing to train is consistency. When we play with high quality we really have it, but when we drop we become average. It's so much about us, but it's difficult to go away in football. It requires experience."

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And that's that from today's press conference. Onto Loftus Road...

Posted By: DrDublin, Dec 5, 13:55:20