Every word Southampton's Rusk said ahead of West Ham

How have the players reacted after the game against Villa, especially the first 70 minutes?

SR: We're at a time when it's important to look for positives, to look for things we can build on. It's been a really good week of training.

I've been really, really pleased with the players' approach again. We looked at some things that we thought were really, really good for us on the day and served as well.

We addressed one or two things that we think we can build on and be better at. But overall, really good week, and we're looking forward to the game.

Is being more compact the foundation to build from?

SR: I think it's one of them. I think the evidence suggests to us that if we get that part of the game right, then we can do a pretty good job of limiting our opponents to big chances.

A personal belief of mine, it's always a good trait for a team to have. It can appear in different ways, in different areas of the pitch as well.

But for us, I think it's a good building block, a good platform to take going into these games.

How's the injury situation? Is Paul Onuachu fit after his ankle issue?

SR: He's been back in and around it the last day or two, so I think it might be a bit 50-50 at this point.

Probably one to assess tomorrow and give us a little bit more time to see where that one sits. But we're hopeful, but nothing conclusive.

Your predecessor felt that Paul had to be 100 per cent to really impact the game, is that the way you see it with Paul?

SR: In the Premier League, the speed of thought and the physicality required in key moments, I don't think you get away with carrying people that aren't quite right.

So one thing's for certain: if he's starting, it's because we're confident he'll be right.

You've got Flynn Downs available again after suspension. How big a boost is that?

SR: It's great. Flynn brings really great energy to the group, a great professional to work with.

It was frustrating that we were not able to draw upon him last week, but to have him back this week is a real positive for us.

He's had an in-and-out season. Have you seen everything you've wanted in training this week? Is he itching to go?

SR: I think the energy has been really high across the board this week from the players, and the level of commitment, as you would expect, has been top draw.

So Flynn's been one of many, really, in the group. The enthusiasm and the intensity of training has been excellent.

I think I've got a good problem this week in terms of the old cliche, a good problem to have.  I've got a large squad to pick from this week.

I've got a few decisions to make about what the starting team will be. I think in the best way possible, the lads this week, the way they've trained, have made it hard for me.

We saw Ross Stewart for half an hour. How has his body reacted to that? 

SR: I think really well. I think I touched upon the other week that when you're a player and you've had that stop-start season, it can be really difficult.

We're all delighted that he's getting a consistent period of training and playing. Great to see him building them minutes off the bench.

Hopefully, long may that continue, and we can get him to a point that he's pushing for a start. I think that has to be the aim for him, and it's certainly the aim for us.

Tell us about your opponents this weekend. What have you made of West Ham recently?

SR: Graham is someone I know. He's gone in and he will be trying to lay down the foundations for his principles of play and what he wants to see in his team.

Although I imagine they're disappointed with their league position at the moment, I also know that they've got real quality to draw upon.

It's a game that we've got to be right at it for. We've got to be at our best to get something out of it.

But we know we've got to deal with the collective and individual threat. They've got the likes of Bowen, who, at any given moment, can turn a game on its head.

That's just an example there. But I think equally, earlier in the year, we deserved something out of that game, I felt.

And although we're in a slightly different scenario now in terms of game state of play, in terms of the league table and where we're at and where they're at, we know they've got qualities that we need to deal with.

But equally, I think we've got qualities that we can bring to the game too.

You'll know far better than most about Graham's qualities as a manager after your time together at Brighton - and you played together at Boston, didn't you? 

SR: Yes, we did. Graham's someone I've known a long time. Super bloke. I'm not sure we'll be able to relate our League 2 stories to Premier League fixtures from 25 years ago.

I'm not sure how relevant that one will be. I think he's been a good icon for a lot of young English or British coaches who've gone overseas.

He's done it the hard way, and he's got himself into positions he's managing at the very top. For myself, he's someone that you can relate to from that point of view.

He's had a coaching journey where he's had to explore and be curious about different ways of gaining development, and eventually get to work at what I think is the greatest league in the world.

It will be nice to pit my wits against Graham, and it will be nice to see him too on a personal level.

You saw firsthand how he took Brighton up a level within the Premier League. Can you pull back the curtain? What are his best traits?

SR: I think a good chunk of Graham's spell at Brighton was during Covid times. It was quite a segregated time in general. But I know Graham and his staff quite well.

I think Graham's got an element of empathy about how he works. I think he likes to understand the person and the player he's working with.

He tries to draw the best performance levels out of individuals. It's something I pride myself on. I believe that you can improve individuals while trying to win games of football.

The goal is to achieve both in the modern game. I think there's an expectation as a coach that you're also developing the individual as a player and a person.

You have to help them on that journey, while also finding that balance that it's a results-driven business we're in.

Graham strikes a nice balance with that. I'm sure that he'll present a few challenges on the day, but I'm hopeful that I can present a few back with our team too.

How do you get the absolute maximum out of these guys when relegation's confirmed? How do you get the motivation levels right and make sure they're all on it? 

SR: I think something for me has been focusing on, I think it's really important to find the balance with professional football and the results nature of the industry.

The external expectations and the opinions that come with it are all great things, by the way. They are great things. It's the people's sport, isn't it?

And I spoke last week about how we're part of that element, and we have to have a cool, calm, considered head around all of the things going on around us.

But really, we've got to work on what defines us and what's going to define our performance. And often games are on fine margins.

It can hit the post and go in, or it can hit the post and go out. And I think it's all of the things around the edges.

It was about reframing what these six weeks are, not moving away from the reality of what it is that we have been relegated.

I don't think it can be a case of the level of the division. You can't just play freely. What we have learned this year is that on any given day in the Premier League, if you're not right at it and you're not well organised and well prepared, the results can be punishing.

And we're not the only side that has experienced that this year. We've seen that this week, actually.

So for me, it's about focusing on what the best things we can do to give us the best chance of performing as well as we can.

And all of the things that go underneath that. And I'll bring it back to the start of that question.

It's about energy, about commitment, about organisation, about training well every day, about sticking to a process.

I think I saw something from Rory McIlroy the other week about, you can have your goals, but if your processes aren't right underneath it, you'll fall to the level of your processes and the way you work rather than the aspirations of your goals.

I'm a process person. I make sure that all of the things underneath the result are right. And you almost work backwards.

If they're right, you hope that you'll be close to that result. So sharing that with the players, trying to understand them and having their input on what's important to them and working together.

How hard is it for you and Adam to create the balance you want to be a threat, whilst trying to improve the shots against you on target, which are higher than any other team?

SR: You've got to find that mix. I think that's right, and I totally understand that there'll be lots of different opinions going on about how you should or shouldn't play.

We're not the only club. I think every club up and down the country will have that. I think finding the balance is tough.

It's not easy. I've been put in charge for the last seven games of the season, and there has been an outcome to a certain element based on the 31 games before I stepped up.

Part of that is that we are at a state of play where it's been difficult for the players to achieve results.

I don't think it would be right for me to be reckless with the team's ambitions. So our ambition is to put our opponents under pressure.

Our ambition is that we want to control more of the game. Our ambition is that we want to play the opponents off. We want to create chances.

But I draw back to that if we don't get that balance right the other way, there's no sympathy around them attacking moments.

If you're losing and you lose badly, the quality in the division is there. Then it's shown to us time and time again.

So the challenge for us is to look at what we've done last week really well. I don't want to focus too much on the 30 games before.

I think what everyone connected with Southampton would hope, I draw positives. Look for the positives. Look for a bit of positive regard in the players.

Look at what the players can build on and do well. And make some tactical tweaks along the way, and hope that that gives us more of a footprint in games.

How conscious are the players that these are their opportunities, against West Ham, Fulham and Leicester, to get some points?

SR: I can understand why big picture, everyone would look at blocks of games. What's important is we have to remain present.

I think great performance is often related to remaining really present. What we do today needs to be done as well as we can.

All my focus is on Saturday and performing as well as we can, as diligently as we can, as intelligently as we can, and pushing our body and mind to their limits as well.

That's what it is. So I don't think it's helpful for us to think about Leicester or think about Fulham or think about Everton or Man City or Arsenal.

We focus on West Ham. That's our immediate focus. And that's just me giving an insight into how I think we best work.

I believe if we can build on what we've done on Saturday, then this is the next game. The next game is the biggest one of your career, I believe.

Does that mean you can't gamble with team selection to blood players in?

I think again, that word gamble and blooding, I think really it's about doing what's right. It's what's the next right thing to do.

Sometimes there are complexities with that, because you're absolutely right to point out that although the outcome of the relegation has been decided, we're still fighting for points.

And I can tell you now, the players want to get as many points as they possibly can. There's always complexities around them things.

We've got a talented young player who is pushing I'd only make that decision if someone's training and playing well and deserving of an opportunity.

So there'll be no gimmies, there'll be no T-shirts handed out here. This is a case of someone having earned it? Is someone fully committed to what the team needs?

How was the feedback to Jay after his few minutes?

SR: It is also a show of trust. I put Jay on the pitch, and we put him on the pitch of this football club because we trust him. I think trust is a critical thing.

When you're a younger player and you're stepping into the environment of Premier League games, trust is a big thing.

When we put someone in that environment, it's because we trust them. We trust that they'll make good decisions.

We trust that they'll be mentally resilient in bursts at the right time. Then we'll learn about them in turn. So that's always a really nice moment.

I thought when Jay came on, he showed some nice touches, some glimpses. I think he can be delighted with that. It was a positive. It was a positive for the day.

I think it's really important that we always find a balance of looking for what was ok and what wasn't great.

This could have been better. But in every game, there are always things that went well and there are always things that you can draw upon moving into the next week.

Can Ross Stewart use these games as a chance to set himself up for next season in the Championship if he stays fit?

SR: I think you see in training his qualities. His timing of movement is excellent, and he can finish. I think if we can build that confidence and really get him back, it takes time.

One of the things about the Premier League and the way the fixtures are is that I think in the lower leagues there's a higher frequency of games and there's more opportunities to build up. 

Finding momentum as an individual player, I think, can be tough sometimes because the game, the way the squads are built.

The demand of the game, technically, tactically and physically, is enormous. For players to build confidence and momentum week in week out can be hard at this level.

We've got to be diligent about that and what opportunity Ross takes, he grabs hold of, and that can be a great catalyst for his confidence really.

I'm delighted with what we're seeing off him, and personally, I'm really pleased that he's getting a nice run of fitness and training, and hopefully we can really build on that.

What do you see as things West Ham will do to cause problems against you?

SR: I think they have the ability to adapt. I think we've seen that in the last few games. Graham is an adaptable coach.

I think they have individual quality, as we have individual quality. Their ability to adapt can be something we've got half an eye on.

I also think there are a lot of opportunities for us to cause problems, and how we do that, we have to be really smart and confident about.