05/11/2017 MOTD2 Extra

Hello and welcome to Match

of the Day 2 Extra on BBC Two,

the BBC Sport website and app,

as well as the iPlayer.

With me today, former Chelsea,

Leicester and Middlesbrough

goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer,

Burnley and Ireland's Jonathan

Walters and journalist Oli Kay,

who's Chief Football Correspondent

for The Times.

Get in touch using the hashtag

#bbcfootball on social media

or you can text us on 85058.

Coming up, Slaven Bilic admits he's

under "big pressure" and in a "very

difficult" position after West Ham

are beaten 4-1 by Liverpool.

The Premier League's top five

are all in action today.

Currently, Spurs and Palace is

goalless at Wembley.

We'll also look ahead to the leaders

Manchester City against Arsenal,

which kicks off at 2.15pm.

And Chelsea v Manchester United,

with Jose Mourinho returning

to Stamford Bridge.

In terms of the back pages.

The Mail on Sunday Sport section has

"Hart Breaker" with manager

Slaven Bilic on the brink

after another heavy home defeat.

The Mirror says "Mour The Merrier"

with Jose Mourinho wanting a £3

million-a-year pay rise.

The Express has gone for "Conte:

I'm the Miracle Man",

with the Italian appearing to take

a dig at Jose Mourinho ahead

of today's match at Stamford Bridge.

Straight to Wembley.

The first four games today.

Tony Husband's watching.

Hello from Wembley, fortress

Wembley, I suppose, for Spurs at the

moment, convincing wins over

Liverpool and Real Madrid in midweek

but Mauricio Pochettino has had to

make changes, no Hugo Lloris,

Alderweireld or Dele Alli in the

match day squad and with the regular

deputy Michel Vorm nursing a knee

injury, Gazzaniga makes his debut in

goal for the home side. Palace, no

goals all points on the road and

certainly some spirit in the fight

against West Ham last week and a big

boost for Roy Hodgson, who knows the

touchline at Wembley very well, is

Mamadou Sakho is back. 17 minutes

played and it is goalless at

Wembley.

No Alderweireld and no lorries was

what we expected, we saw them

injured against Real Madrid but Dele

Alli's injury means he is out of the

England squad which might be a

painful Gareth Southgate but may be

no bad thing for Dele Alli and

Mauricio Pochettino as they try to

manage the fixture list.

I think so,

Dele Alli has played a lot of

football in the last two seasons.

Ultimately, you will pick up

injuries and it is probably not a

bad time to have this sort of

injury. With the England games

coming up, it gives Gareth Southgate

an opportunity to give new players,

uncapped players in opportunity to

stake a claim in the squad for the

World Cup.

Burnley did well at

Wembley earlier this season when

they played Spurs. What was the

feeling in the dressing room about

what Spurs are like to play against

after that game?

I think the whole

stigma about Wembley at the time,

Spurs at Wembley, it was not really

home for them at the time and we

were in a rich vein of form so we

were more concentrating on ourselves

and how well we were doing. I think

as we have gone into all the games,

we did not fear them, we look to

impress our game in and we did that.

Wednesday night was special, it felt

like.

It was. I was there. Everybody

said, was Wembley going to feel like

home for Tottenham, and it certainly

did on Wednesday night. It felt like

an intimidating place for Real

Madrid to go. Not only did they beat

Real Madrid, back-to-back European

champions, but as Zinedine Zidane

said, they were superior in all

respects. I think it is probably a

result that has changed perceptions

of Spurs. They still have to win a

Brophy and I think I will change

perceptions more. -- win a trophy.

But it's a shame people in Europe as

well as in this country that they

are on the rise and they are deemed

to be taken seriously. Get in touch

with us on social media, lots of

tweets already on West Ham.

Jessica says village, time is up,

Mancini, Rafa or Ronald Koeman for

the rest of the season, not David

Moyes.

Mike says it is certainly

time for change, but David Moyes is

not the man. Chris says time at but

not David Moyes, failed at his last

three clubs including 20th last

year, you some of the money we have

not spent to get some are different.

Those are the feelings of the West

Ham fans, they want change but they

don't want David Moyes. Let's hear

from the man who at the time we are

speaking, is still in the job,

Slaven Bilic.

The players tried,

what it not working at the moment.

Lack of concentration, definitely,

for a few goals. It is not the

effort and it is not the

application.

When you say it is not

working at the moment, what happens

now with your personal situation?

My

situation is very difficult coming

years. I knew that before the game.

It has been for quite awhile now. It

is game by game, you know, if you

have a good result, now, you ease

the pressure, and if you don't, the

pressure mounts and at this moment,

it is big and of course, the club is

above everyone, every individual. We

will see what the club is going to

do now.

Do you have to meet with the

owners? Will you speak with them

tonight?

I don't know, we normally

speak after every game, so, it is

going to be most definitely the same

after this one.

As many times this

season after a defeat, he looks like

a man who knows that if time is up.

I think it is very much his persona,

Slaven Bilic. He is like that around

the football scene all the time. I

don't think it changes, when they

are upbeat and when they are

winning, it changes a bit. It goes

up a slight amount but I think that

is pretty much... I read an article

about him, and he said that if his

character, how he is. Clearly he's

feeling the pressure, it goes

without saying, and there are

clearly a lot of things wrong there.

Is he on his last legs? It sounds

like it.

What interests me in that,

one of the things he said was he

talked about it feeling like it was

a game by game situation for him at

the moment and that can't, that

can't help anyone at a football

club.

I don't think it does. As you

said, game by game, there's a few

games ago, saying he

said, game by game, there's a few

games ago, saying he had a couple of

games and he's not getting a results

he wants. It is a difficult place,

West Ham, it is a difficult place to

manage, they have proved that down

the years, the fans can turn quite

quickly.

the years, the fans can turn quite

quickly. When you are getting the

results, not playing the West Ham

way, as people say, whether they

play that way you'll don't come on

the road they are conceding a lot of

goals. He will find it difficult.

I

wonder at times whether it is not

even the West Ham

wonder at times whether it is not

even the West Ham way, Oli, which is

always an argument and has been one

but it is also, we have discussed

this before, for some of those

players, look like you're bothered,

look like you care, won't you?

Every

time I have watched West Ham lately,

the past 12 months, they are awful.

There are games where they worked

and maybe I just don't see those

games

and maybe I just don't see those

games but the games where I watch 90

minutes of West Ham, they are

invariably awful. Spiritless,

spineless, gutless, witless and

other such words.

That end with

less.

You could see it coming

yesterday, it wasn't only going to

be defeat but it would be

comprehensive and it could have been

far more and they look like a team

of players that have given up. I

know it is never the case that they

just give up but that stadium, which

I think is a millstone around their

necks, the atmosphere, the

negativity around Slaven Bilic, the

fact he's been undermined by the

owners, I think...

I know you say

not give up but sometimes when you

watch them, it feels a little bit

like they give up. That may sound

really hard but I think if you talk

to West Ham fans, they will say that

and you can see the players, I don't

know about players that other teams

but the hands go up and there is

frustrating, when they concede one,

they concede another quickly.

I

hated that other player and I hate

watching it now, when players throw

their hands up in the end -- near.

Jonathan will tell you, as a

team-mate, the last thing you want

is honoured to be doing that to you,

if you play the ball. Things are

really tough. The atmosphere is bad

off the pitch and on the pitch and

the minute you make a mistake and

you have your team-mate, who within

your inner sanctum, part of your

group, criticising you openly, it

takes a particular character to be

one that can actually handle it and

take it on the chin and say, "You

know what? We have to pull together.

You make a mistake, fine, let's get

on with it, don't put drums up and

blame everyone else".

I go with that

100%. But the West Ham players, what

players are they trying to sign?

They attract a certain type of

player as well, paying big wages,

picking up players that have maybe

taken a step down from a bigger

club, top four, top six club, so you

are paying big wages but there's a

reason they left those bigger clubs.

So when you say, not trying,

gutless, there's a reason why they

left those big clubs, because

they've got the talent so when you

go to a team like West Ham and it's

not going well, do they have the

grit to get the results they need?

I'm not singling out individuals but

did you raise eyebrows when they

paid over £20 million for Arnautovic

who was a team-mate of yours at

Stoke?

He could turn it on last

year, the past couple of years, turn

it on and when he's on it, he is on

it but how many games did he do it

during the course of the season and

would he do the other side of it was

an issue with him? And could he do

it consistently. For me, it was

probably a good deal. But then

again, it was probably a step up for

him, probably doubling his wages or

whatever he is on now he's there. He

had to step up but has he done it?

You would say that he hasn't. But

when he is on it, he is on it but

that seems the type of player they

have got other club when things

aren't going away, -- at the club

and when things aren't going their

way, yet, they won't be digging in,

I wouldn't say.

Going back to

character, you need a certain type

of character who can take it on

board, take the added responsibility

and actually try to lift your

players around you and be capable of

saying, "You know what? I'll make

mistakes but I'm not going to let my

head go down or give up or give the

perception on giving up". I don't

imagine any of the players are

giving up, it is just the

perception.

The early game in the

Championship, Middlesbrough already

a goal up and Sunderland missed a

chance at one end and Middlesbrough

went down the other end to score so

they are 1-0 up. Still goalless at

Wembley. We understand West Ham are

reviewing Slaven Bilic's position at

the moment. His future will be

decided in the next 48 hours but we

also understand that talks are

underway with David Moyes. As a

possible replacement, which looking

at the text messages and tweets that

have come in and you have been

looking at social media, which is a

naturally negative place as well,

that is the last person, one of the

last people they want, judging by

what West Ham fans are saying.

Well,

people can look at David Moyes and

the past four years of his career,

which have been a disaster Rob Lee

from his point of view. I don't

think I'm being unkind to him if I

say that, Manchester United went as

badly as it could have done, real

Sociedad was clearly not a good

career move, given he went there

without the language and Sunderland

I think was a club, was relegation

waiting to happen and he was not

able to lift the gloom which if

anything deepened when he was there.

This will be a similar kind of job

if he goes there, lifting the gloom,

energising a place. Now, he can do

that, that is exactly what he did at

Everton 15 years ago. He is the same

guy, the same manager but whether

these past four years mean that he

would then come with the baggage...

Do you think he is the... Only David

would be able to do that but do you

think he is the same guy, the same

manager?

I expect so, there has to

be the question in terms of, I

remember seeing him towards the end

of last season at Sunderland, and he

really looked like the weight of the

world on his shoulders and I think

when he is feeling pressure, you

know, you can see it, he does not

hide it well but he's had a break.

West Ham are required which need a

new start. -- are a club which need.

It is a question of whether part of

it... If he's being interviewed and

comes across as someone who is

pessimistic or negative or is

saying, "It is going to be tough",

maybe he is not the person for it

but if it is the David Moyes who is

looking refreshed and like he could

energise it, it might be a good

idea.

So what does he say before

they kick Open -- kick a ball? "We

Are in a relegation fight?"

He will

have to say that and it's later in

the season than when he took over at

Sunderland.

It's difficult, and for

anyone when you sign, player or

manager, people will always

criticise you and won't be happy

with it, as players you had it and

as a manager, it is no different,

with it, as players you had it

and as a manager, it

obviously, talking about David Moyes

it is no different, obviously,

talking about David

'

' record since he left Everton, it

has been Paul Wood is not to say he

is not a good manager.

has been Paul Wood is not to say he

is not a good manager. Whatever has

happened in the past is in the past

and it's up to him to prove the

critics

Is West Ham the right job for him,

he would say 100%, only time will

tell whether or not he is effective

enough to help West Ham progress and

get themselves out of the bidding

and they are in.

At 2.15pm, the leaders

Manchester City play

Arsenal at the Etihad.

Jonathan Pearce is commentating

on the game for Match of the Day 2.

Let me ask you a question on West

Ham, we have spoken a lot about West

Ham over the years, what kind of

manager do you think they need at

the moment?

I think they need a

manager to keep them in the Premier

League, two win over the fans very

quickly, they are unique fans in

many ways. They like to see

attractive football, they are not

seeing it at the moment. They need a

manager to get the players fit. They

have not bought into Slaven Bilic

over recent weeks, he has looked a

beaten man. They need a positive

manager. I have been listening to

the boys in the studio, it is very

important David comes in with a

positive frame of mind. Any manager

after Ferguson would have struggled.

Let us judge him on his previous

Everton record. He is a good coach,

good manager, but the West Ham fans

need a manager to win a couple of

home games in a good style.

Speaking

of style, how do you expect Arsenal

to approach this this afternoon?

How

do you take on Manchester City at

the moment? 14 wins in a row. They

came here a couple of years ago and

did a job. They have not got the

personnel to do that now. The back

three, people have worked him out,

Francis Cocker land. He has not

progressed. They are more resilient

this season, beyond the terrible

performance against Liverpool. I

think they have to attack.

Manchester City can shred any team.

Arsenal cannot sit back and hope,

Sanchez, massive game for him.

Nearly moved to Manchester City in

the summer, he wanted to come here.

If he is hungry, if Mesut Ozil is

hungry, maybe they can stop

Manchester City. The most glorious

attacking football side, to have

this long a run that I can remember,

I have been doing this job a long

time. They went to Napoli and they

were outstanding.

That was got lost

because of Spurs and how they did

against Real Madrid. They went to

Napoli and put four past them,

Sergio Aguero broke the club's

goal-scoring record, it should make

Europe a notice.

A special guard of

honour today here as well. Members

of the England's World Cup success

last week, they will be welcoming

him onto the pitch, creating another

record last week at West Brom,

number of passes in the Premier

League since records began. Pep

Guardiola has not done in the easy

way. It is not just getting

full-backs coming forward, it is

getting them coming inside,

old-fashioned. Different sort of

game to learn at this stage in their

career, so simple in one way,

intricate and another. People said

it was glorious when he was at

Barcelona. This is something

special. I do a lot of work in

European football, a lot of people

on the European scene, yes, they are

saying Tottenham are fantastic, but

the team they are talking about to

win the Champions League this season

from England, Manchester City.

Thank

you. Jonathan Pearce doing the game

for Match of the Day 2 later on.

Think they can win the Champions

League? It is wide open.

On current

form, you would think they can win

anything but we are only ten games

into the season, a long way to go.

At the moment, they cannot do

anything more than what they are

doing. They are definitely the team

to beat.

You wrote this week that

Pep Guardiola is a magician. What

did you mean by that and were you

surprised at the response to the

article?

The largely negative

response?

Yeah.

A strange thing with

Pep Guardiola, people in this

country think he got lucky because

he inherited Messi at Barcelona, got

lucky because he went to Bayern

Munich, got lucky to go to Man City.

I agree with people when they say,

we do not know how good he would be

with a lesser club. His style is

suited to a particular type of

player which is an elite player, not

just in terms of technique, but

intelligence as well. When people

say, would he be able to do it at

this club? Those are legitimate

questions. But what he is doing is

absolutely fantastic. As Jonathan

said, it is not just the results,

the numbers, the number of passes,

goals, points, it is the way...

Nothing like the obvious way of

spending £200 million. He has not

done what Jose Mourinho did. He has

bought expensive full-backs that

everyone said were overpriced, he

bought Jesus and Sane. Everybody

thought they will need time. How

will they go with Sergio Aguero? He

has got Kevin De Bruyne in central

midfield. Far from the obvious. What

he is producing, what the team are

producing, it is fantastic.

I think

that point on the far from doing the

obvious, quite interesting. Several

of those players that you mentioned,

the same happened at Barcelona and

Bayern Munich, you can see players

improving under him. You can see his

coaching, whatever they have spent,

you can see the coaching effect. I

am guessing in your career the

managers you have most enjoyed

playing for are the ones that have

improved you as a footballer?

Definitely. When he came in last

year and he started very well as

well and a lot of people were happy

he failed because people were

saying, as you have said, he was

lucky with the teams he has got, not

built himself up. He is therefore a

recent and he has won for a reason.

When he is at the club, maybe not

the first year, give him a few

transfer windows, let him coach and

build the team, that is what he has

done. Not so much about the passing.

You can have 80% possession, does

not matter, it is how they use the

ball, constantly probed, Sergio

Aguero always threatening, the

interchange in midfield, the

full-backs... It is not a standard

formation they play. Very hard to

play against. As you said, it looks

like everyone is improving under

him.

When we talked about Burnley at

Burns, you concentrate on your own,

you talk about your own

performances, but when you played

City, a penalty that gave them the

lead, at the end of the game, are

you more mentally exhausted than

against any other team?

Yeah, when

you play against a team like City, a

lot of the time you up in your own

18-yard box defending, as a striker,

it is constant concentration. That

is the Premier League, but more with

City. They pass it to drag someone

out to exploit the gap you have

left, it is constant through 90

minutes. You are right, you come off

mentally exhausted.

I think he is

taking his time and he has admitted

that.

You could argue throughout the

team there have been, I think,

marginal improvements in some

players last season, some have stood

still. This season, he has spent a

lot of money, brought in players,

and they are playing the most

attractive and the best football on

the planet. I have spoken to Kevin

De Bruyne and Vincent Kompany off

record quietly about him gully them

and they cannot say enough about Pep

Guardiola -- about him. They say he

is phenomenal, the best they have

worked with. Best they have ever

seen. And that he is something

special.

Because of how he improves

them? The way he wants to play.

They

feel there is an enormous amount of

improvement they will make under

him. When I spoke especially to

Kevin, it was at the end of last

season when I spoke to him and he

said that already, tactically, the

way he has the players playing or

the way he wants them to play,

communication with them, it was the

best. He obviously bought into it

completely which is obvious.

You

still get a lot of people think he

has the best players. If you asked a

Man United fan, do a combined team

of Manchester City, Manchester

United, it would be full of Man

United players. Those players

reputation me, Raheem Sterling, half

of the country seems to think Raheem

Sterling is useless, he is far from

useless. John Stones, Raheem

Sterling, playing out of their skin,

Fernandinho, look to be fading,

David Silva, looked to be fading,

new lease of life now. It is not

just the number of goals, if you

look at the quality of the goals, I

know you do not get extra points for

nice goals, but they are Barcelona

type goals they are scoring, lovely

little interchanges, unselfish in to

cut loose. These are goals we felt

in the past but only Barcelona

score.

If you are a fan and you

could choose to watch majesty and or

City? It is entertainment as well --

you could choose Manchester United

or city? If you are going to watch

them, you would enjoy watching them

and you would want to see how they

play and use the ball.

That is the

way it is. Probably best asking

social media this afternoon!

#bbcfootball if you want to get in

touch. We will

go back to Wembley in a moment.

Arsene Wenger said we have an

opportunity to show we can deal with

these games and I am sure we can, we

will not hide, the best way to

defend sometimes is to attack. Can

they get something out of this?

Of

course they can. Arsenal have to

press high. They have pace. Can they

deal with the likes of what City

have upfront? Only time will tell.

They have got the pace to play a

higher line, they cannot allow City

to come on then, they have to put

them under pressure. Early on.

Engage with them further up the

pitch. Forced the errors. Use Mesut

Ozil, Sanchez, Alexandre Lacazette,

to expose them.

Tony Husband has had the better

opportunities.

I would say Crystal

Palace have had the best chance but

they are conceding most possession.

No surprise there. There are waves

of white shirts coming at them.

Spurs have not created a lot. Rose

with a misplaced header. Harry Kane

from close range as well. Best

chance the Crystal Palace. An

opportunity deflected! Scott Dann

has had the best opportunity of a

largely quiet first half, a header

saved by Gazzaniga from the Crystal

Palace corner. Approaching

half-time, still 0-0 at Wembley.

There are always managers under

pressure, but after yesterday,

Slaven Bilic, Tony Pulis, Paul

Clement at Swansea as well, several

under pressure. Whereas normally we

would say, it is a little bit

unfair, do you think it is right

they are under pressure at the

moment, given how the clubs are

performing?

Paul Clement went in at

Swansea and did an excellent job,

January of last year, remarkable

turnaround. Somewhat under looked at

the time. This season, it looks like

it is a different challenge

altogether. Looks like he needs to

find a new trick. West Brom, Isil

Sam Allardyce on Match of the Day

last night and he was saying, with

Tony Pulis, you stay up. -- eye

sore. It might be a stick or twist

situation. The fans might think,

twist, something more exciting.

If

you win just two of your last 20

Premier League games, if you

continue that form, you are going

down.

I agree, but I thought they

started the season off looking

promising. It seems like they have

had a bad month, a bad six weeks.

You might say, a bad six months,

eight months. I do not think they

will go down. That might be a very

negative way of looking at it, but I

think they will be taking more of a

risk if they went for a more

exciting younger manager who would

open West Brom up.

Let us hear from

Tony Pulis. His comments after this

defeat at Huddersfield yesterday.

I

am disappointed professionally. It

hurts to go such a long time without

winning a game. Things conspire

against you at times and you do not

get the breaks and things do not go

for you. As I have said, I'm strong

enough and old enough to resist it.

Need the players. I worry about the

players more than anything else.

You

don't worry about outside criticism?

No. I have been here too long to

listen to outside criticism. The big

thing is that you have a belief in

yourself. This football club, I have

been here nearly three years,

when I took over, it was in poor

condition, it is better now, better

placed than what we were, and we

have gradually got better and

better. The first bump we have had.

You have to accept, irrespective of

what you have done before, nobody

cares about that, it is what you do

now that counts.

Tom Harper, with a

run of form like this since Arsenal

in March, Tony Pulis is lucky to be

in with the job. If you cannot keep

clean sheets with nine defensive

plays, no point. Gordon, if they

sacked him, that answers your

question... In the bigger picture,

he touched on it there, good enough

to keep them up, do you find it

quite depressing, a lot of clubs

might be looking at somebody who

will keep them up, rather than being

a bit more ambitious and

entertaining?

It goes to show how

important it is to stay in the lead,

the financial repercussions of

relegation.

Is this a league at the

moment that is must not lose rather

than a must win?

For the vast majority, it seems yes,

I think it is a case of survival for

over half of the teams in the league

because of the financial

repercussions. I think the

development of the club, and what

they will say, they will

development of the club, and what

they will say, they will look at any

club, whether it is West Ham, says

Slaven Bilic loses his job and

whoever comes in, if it is a

short-term appointment until the end

of the season, it is purely on the

basis to keep them in the league,

then they will reassess, either

off-season or preseason, to go, "OK,

we've reassessed, we've got to bring

in the right manager, the right

players and take the step forward so

we are no longer fighting and

scrapping to stay in the league and

then start to look.

scrapping to stay in the league and

then start to look. It

scrapping to stay in the league and

then start to look. It is a gradual

progression.

then start to look. It is a gradual

progression. If you look at West

Brom as an example, Tony Pulis is an

excellent manager, you can argue all

day long about the style of football

that he plays and at times it is

boring but there's a lot of teams

out there that do that as well every

now and again. He gets the results

time and again. He creates stability

in the club. Fans over a period of

time get bored with it, almost, they

get sick and tired of it, they would

almost sometimes rather have the

highs and lows relegation and

surviving on the last day of the

season as opposed to having that

consistency and staying up, what

were they, eight or nine games

before the end of the season they

were staying up, and for West Brom,

that is an incredible achievement.

I

find there are not that many really

entertaining games at the moment but

then is it easier said than done to

be entertaining in a Premier League?

Is it easy for me to sit on my

settee with my crisps and my beer

like a fat man, going, "Go on then,

professional players, entertain me".

It is an entertainment sport

although it is a business and as a

club owner, what do you want? You

want to stay in the Prem you league.

The way the gap has grown as well,

the way the money is going in

football, it is only going one way

so you want a manager who is keeping

you in the league. West Brom fans

need to be careful what they wish

for because not too long ago, they

were a yo-yo club.

He is the kind of

man, Izzy, that he won't let it

bother him, the criticism?

No, he

does not bother with social media.

No!

He is too long in the tooth and

it won't bother him one bit.

Is

eager to play for?

Yeah, I enjoyed

it.

He looks after people, like a

father figure?

We were always the

underdogs, similar at West Brom, so

it was all with a battle, whoever

you are planning against, no one

liked playing off at Stoke at the

time. You ask any player and nobody

like I didn't. You used to run into

me all the time and go, bang!

Jonathan Boyd absolutely hammer you.

I got him once, actually.

That's

entertainment, I like that!

It is

what you want, isn't it? Be careful

what you wish for because what do

West Ham want now? They want a

manager to come in and keep them up.

The manager will come in and get

results and what will they want

then? Entertainment and then they

will be struggling, and then they

will get rid of the manager. Who is

an ideal manager for West Ham now?

It would be Sam Allardyce, for me.

What happened with Sam Allardyce at

West Ham? They wanted him out.

Let

me throw someone in that was

suggested, it is half-time at

Wembley, goals, we will gather in a

moment but they said, "Why not

Brendan Rodgers for West Ham?"

Why

would Brendan Rodgers go to West

Ham, seriously?

Dave did not say

why, I don't know.

Brendan Rodgers

is that Celtic, doing brilliantly,

almost halfway through his second

season and he's not lost, people

will say it is only Scotland but

this is not the norm for managers in

Scotland, they will probably... They

will probably going into the Europa

League and they will have a good

run, and if Brendan Rodgers is

looking beyond Celtic, it is bigger

than West Ham. I know West Ham fans

will say that West Ham are bigger

than Celtic, they've got more money,

currently at Brendan Rodgers, having

had probably one bad season in his

career, for which he is remembered,

should be, if he is looking beyond

Celtic, should be looking at bigger

job than West Ham because West Ham

is a relegation fight. People said

Benitez earlier, why would he

swapped Newcastle for allegation

fight at West Ham? It's not a good

job at the moment.

May be why

wouldn't they consider Brendan

Rodgers?

They should but he should

say no.

Because he's in Scotland.

He

would be perfect for Everton for a

variety of reasons -- but for a

variety of reasons, the Liverpool

stigma, the fact he is otherwise

engaged at Celtic, that won't happen

but he would be ideal for any club

who was thinking, well, let's be

more, let's survive and then do

more. He should have bigger fish to

fry, though.

But is it a case that

he's almost scarred from his

Liverpool experience? He needs time

away to regain his confidence, which

obviously, he clearly has. He's at

Celtic where he can do no wrong. But

the big question is, over a period

of time, it gets to the point where

you have dominated everything, he

has won everything, European

football, they cannot compete at the

Champions League level, they have

shown it time and they just can't so

the next challenge for him is to

come back and managed in the biggest

leading the the perennially. Is --

in the Premier League. Is West Ham

bigger than Celtic? It probably

isn't in terms of like-for-like but

in terms of where they are playing,

it is the Premier League, the

hardest league to manage and playing

in the world.

Don't forget, he

nearly won the league with

Liverpool.

Absolutely. I'm enjoying

being part of the back they missed

out on that.

Are the three of you

trying to alienate every Premier

League van at some point? Let's go

to me, half-time between Spurs and

Crystal Palace, as Tony husband been

entertained?

I was listening to you

talking about the crisps and beer

and watching entertaining football

on the side bar, and I was thinking

this is not one of those games for

entertainment, largely uninspiring

first half but Roy Hodgson will

probably be quite happy because his

side have defended solidly, broken

with pace and Wilfried Zaha has been

a threat and Scott Dann forced the

only real save our behalf, the

debited keeper Gazzaniga keeping his

head out from a corner. Tottenham

without the injured Dele Alli, not

quite on it, Rose and Kane with

headers of target after the Lord

may's show, I fear.

Time to talk a quick bit of Burnley.

Is this one of the best squads you

have been in in terms of character

as well as ability?

It is quite

similar to the Stoke squad when I

first joined. Similar mentality,

similar type of player. And a

similar way of approaching every

game. It is quite similar.

Obviously, they have come up and

stayed up, a big test for the team,

for me, is not the first year in the

Premier League, it is the second,

when teams are used to you and the

players get a bit of an ego and

think they have almost made it,

they've done it, you know, they've

achieved staying in the Premier

League from the Championship and the

big test is the second season. We

have started really well. It is only

early days. Plenty of teams we have

seen that have done really well by

November, look at Hull a few

seen that have done really well by

November, look at Hull a few years

back and suddenly, they go crashing

down but I can't see it happening

with us. I think the mentality of

the players and the staff, the

manager, it won't change, I don't

think we will be allowed to change.

I'm assuming it does not surprise

you he gets linked

I'm assuming it does not surprise

you he gets linked with so many

jobs?

Not in the position we are in,

seventh in the league and of course

he will get linked with the other

jobs.

But everything he's put in

place behind the scenes that maybe

we don't see, the sports science and

the training and all of that, we've

heard from former Burnley players

and current players I have spoken to

about it, it is very sophisticated.

He's across everything.

Yeah, and I

was not there last year, we've just

moved into the new training ground

so I was not there when we were in

the old building in the same place.

It is a joy to go into training

everyday in the building we are in.

He has complete control and the way

he picked the team up in the

Championship, he has complete

control because of where we are at.

Whether he would get

control because of where we are at.

Whether he would get that at another

club, because you go into a big

club, there's already structures in

place, no disrespect to any of our

players, you have got bigger

so-called players to deal with an

bigger wages and you bring in egos

and different things into the mix

and that can cause its own problems.

Would he have complete control

and that can cause its own problems.

Would he have complete control over

those buyers? It could cause a

problem.

How I've read have you been

with Chris Wood?

He's been good,

obviously started really well,

scored a lot of goals to begin with.

He is a striker that he might be

quiet for a lot of the game but he

has got the goals, hasn't he? He has

come in and started really well. It

is a different formation to what we

were playing last year because from

what I no, we are

were playing last year because from

what I no, we are playing one up

front instead of two. Most of the

games, although yesterday we

finished with two, it is a difficult

position. We are not scared to do

it. We have got the players, lots of

underrated players in that position.

it. We have got the players, lots of

underrated players in that position.

When you talked about dealing with

egos at other clubs as far as

players, do you also think because

he's been linked with a lot of jobs,

Sean Dyche, in the last couple of

years, do you also think because he

is very... He seems particular about

he will probably want his staff to

go with him if he went to another

club, he would probably want to set

the club up, revamp the whole club,

do you think there are some chairman

or owners who are stuck in their own

ways, their club does things a

certain way and that intimidate them

in some ways?

Yeah, I think there is

that. I think people would also say,

can his style translate to what we

want to do? Going back to the

question of entertainment, with a

club like Everton or indeed a club

like West Ham think, "He's not going

to fit the Everton way or the West

Ham weight"

to fit the Everton way or the West

Ham weight". Beggars can't be dues

is in some ways. -- can't be

choosers. But I think, the style,

the structural control that he

demands or seeks, it might put

people off. But what is clear that

he is a very good manager who

deserves, when he feels like it, he

needs to move on, he deserves a shot

at a good job.

I think for someone

like Everton, Sean Dyche would

almost be perfect because of that

attitude, that never say die

attitude, the determination and grit

and hard work. That is what Everton

fans associate with. I remember

playing them in their time under

David Moyes, they were grafters,

they let you know they were at home,

on the pitch. Plus they had a bit of

extra quality which he has got in

that squad at Everton and I think

Sean Dyche could come in and really

galvanise the team and the squad of

players and creates that connection

again with the fans.

But the club

would have to buy into that. At the

moment, they have a director of

football. There are still members of

staff who were there under Ronald

Koeman and probably Roberto Martinez

as well.

They've gone in a different

direction with the new ownership,

they want to play at a high level, a

different style of football and they

have brought in more footballing

staff and players, with the way

Ronald Koeman wanted to play but it

has not worked and what do they do?

Do they try to continue but now and

the end of the season? Do they find

a manager, like we mentioned, just

to stabilise them and get them into

a good position from now on to the

end of the season? Going back to, we

are only ten games in but their

confidence I don't think can get any

lower.

We've only got about one

minute left. Chelsea and Manchester

United will have coverage

everywhere, so we only have a minute

to talk about it! Are you surprised,

quickly, that Jose Mourinho seems to

have started picking fights with the

United fans in the last week or so?

I think a lot of it is about he's

very calculating.

Is it about

protecting the players?

I think it's

a lot about that, it is about the

team, some part of it is about him,

of course, but he is someone who is

all with calculated about what he

does and in what he does. If he is

fighting with the fans, it is

because he feels that maybe they are

not giving the players the respect,

the team the respect they deserve,

considering the circumstances, the

injuries they've got, he very rarely

comes out and complains about the

injuries, he just gets on with it.

And he's acquired a very good squad

but at the moment, it's not at full

strength with injuries.

Rio

Ferdinand in the Sunday Times says

right now, Chelsea are there to be

smashed, taken apart. He says United

should start all three of Lukaku,

Rashford and Martial. We will see a

bit later whether he does that.

Chelsea and Manchester United is on

Radio 5Live later and the second

half of Spurs against Crystal Palace

is now. Thank you to all of you. We

will see you for Match of the Day to

later to write with Ian White and

Alan Shearer. Goodbye.