..for those who can't access the beeb website, here are his post Marseille words:
Vintage stuff by the Rafatollah 
Rafa: I’m really proud to be here ; you can see the supporters always are amazing, at home and away; and the players, the commitment of the players, the workrate of the players they showed character, quality and I think that the relationship is really good because you can see on the pitch these things
Interviewer:To achieve the turnaround that you’ve done in this group; just how hard was that from a managerial and player’s perspective?
Rafa: Ahh you know that when you’ve made a mistake in the Champions League it is really difficult to go back, so I think the players they showed that they can do it, they show also that the squad is better than the squad of last year and also they showed that we are growing (you know) we are improving, so I think we are in a very good moment and if we can keep the momentum against scum it will be perfect and we will be thinking about the next important games.
Interviewer: There was a lot of pressure obviously going into the game, there was a big crowd, obviously a passionate crowd for Marseille, and the one thing that you needed was an early goal and you got 2
Rafa: Yeah I think it was important for, no, because we were creating chances from the beginning, no, the first one was the penalty and the second one was a fantastic goal by Torres, the team was playing with a lot of confidence. We had an idea if we’re winning or drawing or losing so we started winning so can we keep doing the things we were talking about in the dressing room?
Interviewer: This world famous meeting that you’ve got with the owners, I wonder whether you have, almost don’t have time to have it because you’ve got to prepare for scum on Sunday. When can you fit it in?
Rafa: Really I don’t know, you know, from my point of view I need to be thinking about the scum because we know it’s a tough game and it’s really important because we are near the top of the table, and if we can beat them we will be closer with more confidence for the next games
Interviewer: In your head is it something you’re even thinking about at the moment or are you solely focussed on your team?
Rafa: No I’m really thinking about the team “how can I improve”, no, because i think that the meeting’s very simple we want to win, we want to be successful so, I think it’s just to talk about how to do it and I think that it will be easier than people think maybe
Interviewer: In terms of this Champions league competition, you haven’t topped the group but having said that you topped the group last time and ended up with Barcelona so it doesn’t really matter I suppose does it? You’re going to face a good team
Rafa: Yeah, it’s clear that we will face a good team it doesn’t matter if it’s Milan, Barthelona or Inter, at the end of the day we are really happy to be here because it was difficult and just to wait because we will play in Feb and we will have time for keep improving the team.
Interviewer: And is it fair to say, you’ve mentioned prior to this evening, that you want to be working with this group of players at this club, for a long time to come?
Rafa: It’s clear. I think that this is a fantastic club and we are progressing so I think that it is a good moment if we want to be contenders or we want to be close and especially the other day we lost against Reading and we were really disappointed but Arsenal lost so at the end of the day you know we have 1 game in hand we are closer and the team is scoring so I think we can keep winning and maybe trophies, no?
Interviewer:To achieve the turnaround that you’ve done in this group; just how hard was that from a managerial and player’s perspective?
Rafa: Ahh you know that when you’ve made a mistake in the Champions League it is really difficult to go back, so I think the players they showed that they can do it, they show also that the squad is better than the squad of last year and also they showed that we are growing (you know) we are improving, so I think we are in a very good moment and if we can keep the momentum against scum it will be perfect and we will be thinking about the next important games.
Interviewer: There was a lot of pressure obviously going into the game, there was a big crowd, obviously a passionate crowd for Marseille, and the one thing that you needed was an early goal and you got 2
Rafa: Yeah I think it was important for, no, because we were creating chances from the beginning, no, the first one was the penalty and the second one was a fantastic goal by Torres, the team was playing with a lot of confidence. We had an idea if we’re winning or drawing or losing so we started winning so can we keep doing the things we were talking about in the dressing room?
Interviewer: This world famous meeting that you’ve got with the owners, I wonder whether you have, almost don’t have time to have it because you’ve got to prepare for scum on Sunday. When can you fit it in?
Rafa: Really I don’t know, you know, from my point of view I need to be thinking about the scum because we know it’s a tough game and it’s really important because we are near the top of the table, and if we can beat them we will be closer with more confidence for the next games
Interviewer: In your head is it something you’re even thinking about at the moment or are you solely focussed on your team?
Rafa: No I’m really thinking about the team “how can I improve”, no, because i think that the meeting’s very simple we want to win, we want to be successful so, I think it’s just to talk about how to do it and I think that it will be easier than people think maybe
Interviewer: In terms of this Champions league competition, you haven’t topped the group but having said that you topped the group last time and ended up with Barcelona so it doesn’t really matter I suppose does it? You’re going to face a good team
Rafa: Yeah, it’s clear that we will face a good team it doesn’t matter if it’s Milan, Barthelona or Inter, at the end of the day we are really happy to be here because it was difficult and just to wait because we will play in Feb and we will have time for keep improving the team.
Interviewer: And is it fair to say, you’ve mentioned prior to this evening, that you want to be working with this group of players at this club, for a long time to come?
Rafa: It’s clear. I think that this is a fantastic club and we are progressing so I think that it is a good moment if we want to be contenders or we want to be close and especially the other day we lost against Reading and we were really disappointed but Arsenal lost so at the end of the day you know we have 1 game in hand we are closer and the team is scoring so I think we can keep winning and maybe trophies, no?
Comment