Wycombe Wanderers vs. City reaction | Erol Bulut
Erol Bulut spoke to the media following the Bluebirds’ goalless draw against Wycombe Wanderers in the final game before the 2023/24 Sky Bet Championship campaign kicks off.
The City boss began by reflecting on pre-season: “Generally, our games that we played, they were good. The games in Portugal, I was very satisfied. We lost the games, but in general, what I want to see from the team, I saw it.
"What we give to the players, they put it on the pitch well, but we’ve missed the goals. We create a lot of chances, but have not taken them.
“Today was our last game before the season and it was good test. They were strong. We have to be focused now on the league game next week. We have a week of training and next weekend, we have to be 100%.”
Bulut named a strong starting XI, which included summer recruits Iké Ugbo, Dimitrios Goutas, Aaron Ramsey and Karlan Grant.
Erol continued: “Of course, some players are still new in our team. We took five new players, so they are trying to adapt to the team.
“Some movements on the field, we have to be better on this. Like today, we saw this. For the coming weeks, we have to manage much better, of course. This will come I think.”
The City boss concluded by providing an update on the absentees in the matchday squad: “We didn’t have Yakou [Méïté] today, he had a small injury.
"Joe Ralls will be back with us in a few days, but of course, we have to show a different performance next week. My players know that, I know that. For the game against Leeds, we will be fit.
“Mark [McGuinness] had a small kick on his knee in the last game, so that’s why we didn’t want to risk him. Rubin [Colwill] felt some stiffness, so again, we didn’t want to risk him. We didn’t want to risk any injuries for those four players today, that’s why they weren’t included.
“Romaine [Sawyers] was with the national team, he had his last game at the start of July, so we gave him a bit of rest. He’s still had a small knee injury from the games, but he will also be in training next week.”
