ON THE MAN CITY TACTICS
"I really was close to tweeting because their comments didn't make sense. Our tactics were spot on. We were playing a team that had just beaten Tottenham 4-1! So for people to say it was a shambles and embarrassing got to me. I was close to going for it on Twitter. I asked a few people what they thought but ultimately I thought it would have caused a scene — it would have got messy — and that would have been bad. I really respect them both but to hear pundits saying we were accepting defeat was not right. As ex-players I thought they would understand our approach. Maybe they just wanted something to talk about, because they had nothing else to say.
ON THE PLAYERS BEHAVIOUR UNDER MCCLAREN
"The players' heads were all over the place back then. Yes, it was there. Completely. It was bad. Steve is obviously a well-respected manager but there is only so much you can do when you have 20 players refusing to do things and not taking anything seriously. That's how it was but the minute this manager came in it changed. Because of the respect he has, players wouldn't dream of going against what he says. I wouldn't let them do it either. This is totally different now. No cliques. All together. I don't think for one minute we will go down this time.
BEING FRIENDS OFF THE PITCH WITH PLAYERS
"I would say the opposite. The higher you get you will find more egos and dressing rooms won't be as tight. It's just my opinion. Lower down the league — maybe because there are more English players — it will be tighter. I am not talking about this club. We are tight and we make sure we are. But if you look at your Man Citys and everybody else, I can't imagine they are all good friends off the pitch. I would imagine they come in training and then, after, off you go. They are world-class players and because we are not we need to make sure we are doing the right things and working extra hard and going for team meals and sticking together. There is a saying that there are no friends in football. I don't believe that. I have good friends here. But obviously you like certain players more than others. That's just life and people. Once you train or cross the white line then friendships or not liking someone goes out of the window. 'I will treat everybody the same and I expect the same back.
ON THE FIGHT WITH MO DIAME
"It's my job to tell people,' Lascelles shrugged. 'If I didn't I wouldn't be wearing the armband. If I wasn't pulling my weight I would expect to be told. So I am not worried about upsetting anybody. Afterwards you shake hands and what happens on the training pitch stays there. We are both men. If something needs to be said I am not going to bite my tongue just because I may upset someone. I don't want to fight with my team-mates but I will do what is best for the team. I want to win. We actually have a great group of lads here now. They give everything.
ON THE GAFFER
"I can see why other people would want him as he is world class. It would be a massive loss for us. Since he came in everything has been positive, from the reaction of the fans, the respect of the players and what he gets from the players and how we are playing. If he had arrived earlier last time round he would have kept us up. I have come on leaps and bounds since he has been here. So I think we should do our best to make sure he is comfortable and for me they should be giving him what he wants because they won't find anyone any better than him. We need to carry on like we are going,' said Lascelles. We have a good manager who knows what he is doing, a good set of lads who are organised and together and the best fans in the country. If we stick together this club can really take off."