During his weekly appearance on WFAN, Willie Randolph didn’t down play the importance of beating the Phillies, but he did reiterate that they are just like any division rival, adding, “We need to play better against those guys and we will.”

Later in the interview, he said, “We don’t like losing to the Phillies, we don’t like them at all.”

…none of us do, willie…none of us do…

According to Randolph, he is aware of the fan’s frustration based on talk radio and from the booing during yesterday’s game, adding, “We just gotta play better and that will take care of itself.”

Randolph says he took Oliver Perez out of yesterday’s game because he was struggling at the time, adding, “I wasn’t mad at him as some reports said, I had to do what was best for the team at the time, and it worked.”

Regarding Aaron Heilman, he said, “I gotta trust him. Right now he is my eighth-inning guy…Don’t wanna mess with him.”

Regarding Jose Reyes, Randolph said, “He’s gonna catch fire and have a good year. He had a strong spring. It’s only six games. He’s just a little jumpy. He wants to redeem himself for last season. He’ll settle in and have phenomenal year for us.”

Lastly, asked if the team is feeling any pressure based on how last season ended, he said, “I don’t sense that in the clubhouse…I think we feel like we would like to get off to a good start so we don’t have to answer those questions. So, maybe there’s a little urgency in our minds but I think we’ve turned the page.”

…thanks to the great Peter Wade for the quotes…

To listen to Randolph’s entire interview, go to WFAN.com.