We have got Gavin Ward back in training and he has been looking well on course which is great news. At the moment we are only looking at the suspension of Dickson Etuhu which is obviously coming up in the next couple of weeks.

To be fair I don’t think he is quite ready for that yet. He has had a good week’s training but that is about it, there is still more work to be done. We have got to back to the specialist again and make sure that everything is ok. It is good to have him back, he has been doing jogging, he has obviously been doing the handling and the goalkeeping work which is required but we are still a little bit early I think.

We train him, we get him back to the specialist, we get the ok and then we go from there.

At one point it looked quite serious, with regards the injury and the swelling and the information that was given to us. It was very much a concern at the beginning but thankfully he has come over that, he has come through it unscathed and I think he is a very lucky man. I am just delighted to have him back playing again.

He is an experienced player and he is mixing great with the players, as is typical of goalkeepers he is not the shyest bloke in the world which is good, he is a bit loud and noisy in the dressing room which is nice. He has come in and settled in very well, he has handled himself very well I think.

For me it is another difficult match, we are playing against a team who are very capable of being in the play-offs, very capable of going up for promotion because of the size of club and the fanbase and the wage structure and everything else. They have got a lot of good players and they are a very big club as we know so that in itself makes life difficult but we have got to go there and we have got to face these teams, we have got to face these teams with confidence, with belief that we can go there and we can cause one or two problems and hopefully come away with something.

They have picked up over the last few weeks, they have got some decent results and they were very unfortunate against Leeds United not to get something. They are side that is on the up and they are a side who can genuinely get to the play-offs and if not that even automatic promotion. They are very much a dangerous animal this week and with the club that we are playing against and the tradition that they have, and the support that they have got, we know it is a difficult one. But it is no more difficult than many of the other games that we have faced, we have got to go there again and do what is required, work hard and try and get one or two breaks on the day to hopefully get three points.

For me it is looking ahead, I don’t believe that we should be looking at past results and the history of what has took place. Saturday is a different situation altogether, we have got to forget what has taken place in the past and we have got to forget all about what has happened in London. This will be a very difficult game because both teams are fighting for the same thing, they know that, we know that and I would expect them to be playing this game at a very high pace, a high tempo and trying to upset our game a little bit. We have got to be ready for that, we have got to be prepared for this battle because that is what it is going to be.

He is available for the West Ham game and he will be available for the Wolves game, after that we lose him for four matches. I have not really had a discussion with him, we came into training on Wednesday and that is the first time I have seen the lads and I will be having one or two meetings because of what took place, and I have had a chance to sit down and speak to the people that I have to see. I need to speak to one or two guys, Dickson being one of them.

My thoughts are the same as they were earlier in the week. It was totally unnecessary and there is no excuse for it.

They know themselves and there is a nice feeling there, they came back in yesterday very fresh and very energetic which was good. They are on course, we can ask no more of these players, they are a great bunch of lads to work with and they are very responsive to what we are trying to do.

They are very conscientious off the pitch which is very important and that is nice to see. Hopefully we need that little bit of luck to keep things moving along.

I can’t fine anybody for being overweight, that’s the problem. I keep getting these scales out twice a week but I can’t seem to get anybody, there’s not too many going to McDonalds or Burger King and from that point of view it is good.

After three or four days what you normally find is that they will come back and they will be a couple of pounds over, but I can’t quite get these guys. I might have to change the rules a little bit.

So from that point of view I’m happy that they get the days off and they do what is necessary when they are off. That is what I say to them, they have to look after themselves and when they come back in they are back in right on the ball again.

They are very professional and to me that is so so important. We can look after them four hours a day but the serious side of the job is the other 20 hours when they go home, they have to really take care of themselves.

Always, every week, every day. Obviously if we pick up one or two injuries and suspensions then that is a different ball game. But if we can stay clear of injuries and suspension then there is no reason why this squad can’t carry on with what they have been doing over a long period of time.

I think it will be a case of needs must, if we lose players through injury or suspension we can get people in if we need to bring people in. I’m sure the club will sit down and look at it, when we lost our goalkeepers Gavin and Andy it was a case of us having to go and get a goalkeeper. We will take everything on its own merits with regards now and the end of the season.

I don’t know if the money would be there but we would have to look at the situation. It depends on what happens, it depends on the timing and the position and everything else, we have got good depth of cover at the moment but that can change very quickly as we have seen with the two goalkeepers. It is hopefully between now and the end of the season we can go without any suspensions and injuries and carry on with the squad that we have because the lads have done fantastically well, it is very difficult for some good good players in the 16 and even in the stand, to try and get in at the moment because of how well the players are doing.

It is important that they realise that there is a door opening here and that they are doing the right stuff on the training ground and making sure that they are doing the right things when they get the opportunities. It is a good time for other players and realise that sometimes these things happen and it is up to them to go and take it.

Omar is back, he has had a good couple of days, we have had lots of stories as you can imagine and he said he played like Pele when he was over there so that’s great news.

We have seen nothing, all we have seen is beachballs and things like that, it is all the holiday stuff, his amber solaire and things like that. He’s back, he’s fresh and he has had a good rest and he is now ready to come back in again.

It keeps him on course to go and do what is necessary and it is very important in Omar’s situation that he continues to play in these international games. He has to continue to go and play in some of these games, for the more experienced ones like Claude it is a different matter. For Omar it was a case of him needing to play one or two international games to make sure that everything is ok.