Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe was bullish in Thursday morning's pre-match press conference at Euxton.
The Lilywhites chief was quizzed on a range of topics - from last weekend's costly kick off against Watford, to the identity of his team, fitness and continued, poor underlying data. North End's manager also discussed his trip to watch Chelsea ahead of next month's FA Cup encounter.
Have a read of all that below...
1. On PNE's kick off which saw Watford score 18 seconds into the second half
"We do it every game, but maybe one or two were too lob sided and too eager to go and get the next goal - and have a fast start. And we did want a fast start, of course, coming out in the second half with our kick off. So yeah, I am responsible for everything as the manager. I don't hide away from that, but collectively we are responsible for everything we do. One or two players could've held back a bit, but if you win your first contact and second contact - which we expect to do - it doesn't get to that. So, regardless of tactics and everything else, it's irrelevant. If you win your contacts, you'll be fine - and we never did that. So again, responsibility all over the park, me included. The main thing is doing it better next time."
2. On whether it has put him off doing it again
"No," said Lowe. "But just challenge. It's as simple as that. You look at most teams now and they do it, because what it does is get you up the pitch - and you can either win a throw for yourself or they win a throw 90 yards away from goal. Then you can reset yourself, know where they're going, force them one way - whatever it may be. A lot of teams do it. A lot of teams work it around the back and keep playing football. Is that a bit risky? Of course, so there is no 'we don't do that again'. We want to put the ball in their half, be on the front foot and that gets you on the front foot. It's the small margins - if you don't challenge for it or win your contacts, then sometimes there's a consequence. That's certainly what happened for the second goal.
3. On the superior fitness and athleticism of Watford's players
"I am not going to criticise my players, if that's what you want me to do," said Lowe. "That is never going to be the case. They are as fit as the Watford players. They are as fit as they can be. That game, we covered most of the distances probably. You don't see that. People just look and think we looked a bit tired and leggy. Did it take a lot out of us, the goals going in? Of course it did. That's what happens, mentally and physically. Watford made four changes in that game, I think. They were all physical lads. Maybe they thought Ched (Evans) was going to play and went bigger and stronger at the back and in the middle, which is fine - that's tactics. But there is no criticism of my players from me. Sometimes you can come up against who are bigger, stronger and faster than you and you cannot do anything about that."
4. On the identity of his PNE team - after questions on it from North End fans
"Let me put that back in your corner then," said Lowe. "Who was the fan? And what has the fan done in football? That is fine (they're a paying supporter), no problem. But to answer your question, the identity of football is winning football matches and however way you do it, you do it. So, I won't name the team, but a team playing attractive football, with loads of xGs is sitting third or fourth bottom in the league - or fifth bottom. So, where do you want to be? What do you want to be? I want to compete in every game and we've competed in large parts of games. There have been a couple where we haven't. Do we want to play nice, attractive football? Yeah. Are we allowed to at times? Probably not. Do we have to get the ball up the top end of the pitch and win first and second contacts, then play? Yeah, that is what's suited us of late. Did we do a different job against Norwich? Perfectly well. Did we perform in a 3-5-2 against Watford, first half? Probably one of the best 40 minutes this season - on the front foot. The goals then kill you in the second half. So, there is an identity. The identity is winning games of football or trying to. Do we change for different teams? Of course, you have to adapt."