Big Sam faced the media ahead of Saturday's game with Leicester City.
The West Ham United manager answered questions on Winston Reid's fitness, the difficulties that Leicester will pose and keeping players focused for the last part of the season.
Good afternoon Sam, what have you been up to over the last fortnight?
SA: "We’ve been looking after the players mainly, they’ve had a bit of time off to spend with family and friends. We were waiting on one or two players to come back from international duty and thankfully they’ve all come back fit and ready, Cheikhou was the last one to come back.
"Winston is back in full training, in the end he didn’t go on the New Zealand trip because he hasn’t played for a while. It’s been good for him because he has been able to work on his fitness rather than do all that travelling.
"I don’t think Enner Valencia will make it for Saturday but he is back in light training which is good. Apart from that we are all fit and ready for a very difficult game away at Leicester."
How far away is Winston would you say?
SA: "He’s OK now, he’s in full training. He’ll be available for selection, he’s had seven or so days of full training. He might be a bit short of match sharpness but it’s obviously great to have him back."
After beating Sunderland, do you think the international break came at a bad time?
SA: "No, not really. We wouldn’t have had Winston fit or Enner available so now we’re in a stronger position than we would have been if we had had a game last weekend."
With eight games to go, are you still hoping for a European spot or looking to consolidate a top ten spot?
SA: "Looking at the table, it’s very tight between eighth and tenth. We have a reasonable run in, some games are certainly more winnable than others. No game is ever easy, Burnley beating Manchester City showed how difficult it is.
"I thought Leicester did enough to get something from the Tottenham game, it just hinged on a decision that went against them. For us, it’s about getting as many points as possible, hopefully we’ll build on our win over Sunderland last time out."
Leicester are bottom, but if you look at their results, they’ve haven’t been turned over by anybody, they’ve always been pretty close games, haven’t they?
SA: "Nigel must be pulling his hair out and thinking why haven’t we got more points that we do. On occasion, they’ve been good enough to win or score but not quite managed to do so. At this level you get punished for that.
"It’s a result business and they haven’t gone as well as the performances merit. At this stage of the season teams at the bottom can go on a good run, last year it was Sunderland. We’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen against us."
Leicester are eight games without a win, before the win over Sunderland you were on a similar run, can you sympathise with Nigel Pearson?
SA: "Absolutely, our performances in that run we’re some of the best we’ve had this season. We know what to expect, Leicester will be up for it and I think they’ve got great hope that they stay up. It’s happened before, Alan Curbishley did it here a few years ago. I did it at Bolton early on, Sunderland did it last year, Roy Hodgson did it at Fulham. When you’re fighting for Premier league survival it can bring out the best in players."
Nigel Pearson has been under a lot of scrutiny this season, how do you think he’s handled that?
SA: "I think he’s done OK. He’s his own man with his own methods, he believes in what he’s doing. Like everyone under pressure he said one or two things but that’s normal, football managers are only human.
"In general he’s done an unbelievable job as a manager, not just at Leicester, but overall. They’ll be disappointed about where they are but they’ll be happy with their performances."
How do you make sure that players remain focused for the last part of the season?
SA: "It is a concern as a manager because you can’t afford to switch off the gas, no matter where you are in the table. We have to create as much revenue as possible and it’s about a £1 million more per place you finish so each position does what a difference."
The West Ham United manager answered questions on Winston Reid's fitness, the difficulties that Leicester will pose and keeping players focused for the last part of the season.
Good afternoon Sam, what have you been up to over the last fortnight?
SA: "We’ve been looking after the players mainly, they’ve had a bit of time off to spend with family and friends. We were waiting on one or two players to come back from international duty and thankfully they’ve all come back fit and ready, Cheikhou was the last one to come back.
"Winston is back in full training, in the end he didn’t go on the New Zealand trip because he hasn’t played for a while. It’s been good for him because he has been able to work on his fitness rather than do all that travelling.
"I don’t think Enner Valencia will make it for Saturday but he is back in light training which is good. Apart from that we are all fit and ready for a very difficult game away at Leicester."
How far away is Winston would you say?
SA: "He’s OK now, he’s in full training. He’ll be available for selection, he’s had seven or so days of full training. He might be a bit short of match sharpness but it’s obviously great to have him back."
After beating Sunderland, do you think the international break came at a bad time?
SA: "No, not really. We wouldn’t have had Winston fit or Enner available so now we’re in a stronger position than we would have been if we had had a game last weekend."
With eight games to go, are you still hoping for a European spot or looking to consolidate a top ten spot?
SA: "Looking at the table, it’s very tight between eighth and tenth. We have a reasonable run in, some games are certainly more winnable than others. No game is ever easy, Burnley beating Manchester City showed how difficult it is.
"I thought Leicester did enough to get something from the Tottenham game, it just hinged on a decision that went against them. For us, it’s about getting as many points as possible, hopefully we’ll build on our win over Sunderland last time out."
Leicester are bottom, but if you look at their results, they’ve haven’t been turned over by anybody, they’ve always been pretty close games, haven’t they?
SA: "Nigel must be pulling his hair out and thinking why haven’t we got more points that we do. On occasion, they’ve been good enough to win or score but not quite managed to do so. At this level you get punished for that.
"It’s a result business and they haven’t gone as well as the performances merit. At this stage of the season teams at the bottom can go on a good run, last year it was Sunderland. We’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen against us."
Leicester are eight games without a win, before the win over Sunderland you were on a similar run, can you sympathise with Nigel Pearson?
SA: "Absolutely, our performances in that run we’re some of the best we’ve had this season. We know what to expect, Leicester will be up for it and I think they’ve got great hope that they stay up. It’s happened before, Alan Curbishley did it here a few years ago. I did it at Bolton early on, Sunderland did it last year, Roy Hodgson did it at Fulham. When you’re fighting for Premier league survival it can bring out the best in players."
Nigel Pearson has been under a lot of scrutiny this season, how do you think he’s handled that?
SA: "I think he’s done OK. He’s his own man with his own methods, he believes in what he’s doing. Like everyone under pressure he said one or two things but that’s normal, football managers are only human.
"In general he’s done an unbelievable job as a manager, not just at Leicester, but overall. They’ll be disappointed about where they are but they’ll be happy with their performances."
How do you make sure that players remain focused for the last part of the season?
SA: "It is a concern as a manager because you can’t afford to switch off the gas, no matter where you are in the table. We have to create as much revenue as possible and it’s about a £1 million more per place you finish so each position does what a difference."