What were your thoughts on today’s game?
Of course, I'm happy with the three points, that’s what we need every week. Today in the first half Kilmarnock delayed play and made it really difficult for us to create many chances. But we’ve played many games like this before, in the second half space opened up and all the energy we gave in the first half paid off to create space. We scored some good goals and had a clean sheet so we have our second win now and are working hard ahead of Tuesday.
What did you make of Steven Davis’ performance?
I thought we had some players who played really well and gave the team what was needed. Steven Davis was playing his first game of the season and showed the ability and quality that he still has. I’m happy with his performance. I thought Tom Lawrence played really well in the pockets and provided the threat we needed up front along with Malik Tillman. They’re the type of players you need in a team when you’re playing against a deep block. I’m of course happy for my two strikers. It’s Antonio [Colak’s] first goal and Morelos' [first of the season] as well, it’s always good to have them on the scoresheet.
How pleased were you with Malik Tillman’s performance?
He came in a couple of weeks ago and has been welcomed really well. You can see his quality and talent is really high, of course coming from the Bayern Munich academy and playing some games for them. He is a strong player, you can see that today. Some players when they come to this league struggle in the beginning with the physicality but he doesn’t have any issues with that. Of course, his technical quality is of a very good standard. He created some chances, [such as] just before he came off the pass to Morelos. He is capable of creating those chances.
How do you think Ridvan Yilmaz played and how is Ryan Kent?
Ridvan is one of the players who hasn’t been with us long. With all the experiences he has had this week it’s quite big for him because it’s his first game at home. He will need a little bit more time to adjust to our play style but it’s important we give him minutes as well to get his first game at Ibrox. Today came too soon for Ryan [Kent] but we’re working hard to get him ready for Tuesday, hopefully, we will manage to do so.
Are the new players still gelling?
I think we will improve for sure because it’s a new system for the players who are adjusting to new teammates. Today we had two clear chances maybe, but in the first five minutes we played through their defence quite a lot and were a little but unucky not to score earlier. As long as we keep working hard in training and keep working to create as many chances as we can.
Did you get just what you wanted from Morelos?
It’s his first minutes in five months. It’s a really long time, almost half a year so it’s good to have him in the squad. You can see what he brings, not only his performance but the way the fans treated him, that shows what you have when he plays. He is always capable of scoring goals so for him, his first minutes of the season after five months, he will only get stronger with each game.
Did Steven Davis show today why you kept him at the club?
He was one of the players at the end of last season who we sat down with and spoke about his future, given his age. He felt he had more in him and you can see when he plays today he is a player who is a great example because of the way he is as a professional, making sure he can play on a really high level at his age. He looks strong and today his performance was really good.
What did you make of Antonio Colak’s performance?
Of course, it also depends on the opponent. Kilmarnock came here to get a result and defended deep, so yeah of course everyone needs support. If you’re playing against five defenders with three midfielders in front of them, only three or four players won’t make it difficult. Colak had Scott Wright, Malik and Lawrence around him, which will give him more options to play and that’s what we did well today.
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