STEVE MORISON:
And the derby, the fans are furious about the manner of the defeat...?
"From our point of view we have to look at the bigger picture. We came in on Monday morning and we had to put it to bed. The difference between us and you guys and the fans is that we have to perform again on Saturday and pick the lads up off the floor. What I reiterated to the players is that we all had a tough weekend. Everyone personally, everyone's families, friends. It was a horrible weekend, but ultimately we’ve got to get on with our job and put a performance in on Saturday. As tough as that is to hear and for people to understand that’s the reality of our job. We have to go to work again and we have to make sure these last seven games don't become null and void because we’ve had a terrible result against our arch rivals. No one can get away from that fact."
"But ultimately we’re part of a bigger picture. We’ve done some excellent work and that’s why this morning we’ve been given manager of the month because of how well we’ve done up until that game. My job with my staff is to make sure that we don’t get too sucked into negativity, bad feeling and bad vibes. We’ve got a young group of players that are still learning. For many of them that was their first experience of a derby in front of a crowd and it was a terrible experience for them in the end. We want them to be huge for this football club. We want them to take us forward and win many derbies going forward. So we had to make sure they’re alright."
"I spoke yesterday at a Q&A for the Disabled Supporters Association. Those younger players I feel I need to treat like my own kid. How he must feel after that game. How terrible he must have felt. Coming in on Monday you could still see the look in their eyes of being like a rabbit in headlights, just thinking ‘oh my god, what just happened at the weekend’. For us it’s about helping them grow and make sure it doesn’t happen again."
Steve Morison
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