on the performance...
"Overall I must say it's a great performance from such a
young team to come here and win, against a side which in my opinion
is a very good one."
on the risk of fielding such a young side...
"I was worried that it wouldn't work well and that
confidence would drop [as a result]. I want to use this competition
to give my young players experience and to go out in the First
Round would not have been good for us. I felt we were rock solid in
the centre of defence and that helped a lot tonight because a lot
went through there."
on seeing young players come though...
"It is maybe one of the greatest satisfactions a manager can
get. I feel a lot that youth is criticised but I must say I have
boys who want to be successful in life and want to achieve
something, and it's fantastic to help them to do that. I have
plenty of boys who have a fantastic spirit and you could see that
again tonight. It's a great pleasure when you can help people
who want to be successful."
on Denilson's debut and whether he'll be
given regular first-team opportunities...
"I felt he had a great game. He's just 18 and he had a
tremendous presence and a tremendous engine. I felt he did
extremely well. I look to fast track all of my young players but I
can only play 11 and the ones who play already in the first-team
are not too bad you know."
on two-goal striker Jeremie Aliadiere...
"He has been extremely dangerous tonight. I like the way he
played. He was very mobile and very quick. Quick with the ball and
quick off the ball as well. He lacked a bit of competition, and you
could see that in the last 20 minutes, but in the first hour he was
tremendous."
on why the Frenchman has struggled to break into the
first-team...
"He's had consistent problems with injuries. Every time he
was very close [to breaking through] he had a big injury. Now is
the first time since I've had him that he hasn't been
bothered by a problem since the start of the season, and you've
seen what a player he is."
on the performance
of whizzkid 'winger' Theo Walcott...
"I'm happy to give him a whole game. He was very
dangerous. We could break with pace with him, Aliadiere and
[Armand] Traore [on the pitch]. I feel we must let him first play
on the wing, then he will go in the centre later. I like to develop
a player on the wing a little bit because he has to dribble, and
later that will be an asset when he plays in the centre."
