Lopetegui on Bowen, 'knowing the team better' and Man City 'demand'

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Manchester City (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• It is still unclear how long Jarrod Bowen will be sidelined for after fracturing his foot against Liverpool on Sunday: "It's not going to be a few days, that's for sure. He was able to play 50 minutes with the injury, but now he has to rest and recover. It's not good news for us. I prefer not to say a number because we have to see how he is going to develop."

• On how big a blow his absence will be: "He is one of our main players and our captain too, but we have to be able to find solutions. It is a moment for other players to show they are ready to help us. We believe in the players that are in the squad, they are going to try to take advantage of this opportunity."

• He will be turning to his "leadership group", which includes left-back Aaron Cresswell and defensive midfielder Tomas Soucek, to find someone to step up and captain the side in Bowen's absence.

• Michail Antonio being discharged from hospital and being allowed to recover at home is "good news" but the forward is still "going to be out for a long time".

• On whether he will have to bolster his forward options in the current transfer window due to having two forwards out for an unknown time frame: "It is true that we have these two important losses, but the squad knows that we need someone [to step up]. At the moment, the squad is going to work around this."

• Meanwhile, striker Niclas Fullkrug is "step-by-step getting better and putting his body in the best condition" so he is "ready to help" the team, but he added: "It is up to our choice. We can choose him or another player, because Danny Ings is ready too and we can use other players in that position.

• Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski will also be back in contention after serving the Premier League's 10-day protocol for head injuries.

• On reaching the halfway stage of his first season in charge of the Hammers: "I think we have had good moments but also moments where we have to improve, so we are more demanding with ourselves. We start the second part of this season with the team knowing me better and me knowing the team better. I think that is the base we are trying to build on."

• He is expecting a "demanding match" against Manchester City: "I am sure that we are going to play one of the best teams around the world. You can speak about the last weeks but I prefer to put the focus on the team we are about to face, and I know that we are going to face a very good team with top players and a top coach. We need to put the focus on our strengths and believe in ourselves to overcome this demand."

• Lopetegui was asked about West Ham's decent away form of only three defeats from nine games on the road: "I think that we try to do well at home and away, for me it has the same importance. We have tried in the last matches to make it very tough to score in the last moments, such as the last part of the first half and the second half. We try to keep the positives and try to improve the things that we have to improve."

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