Mon Aug 20, 2007 2:34 pm
This is a rough indication of what DD said on Saddlers World. He did not say anything in that interview about the crowd applauding Ishmel's run.
RM. The result hurts. We dominated the game really from start to finish, missed a hatful of chances. We've only really been caught on the counter attack. We conceded a goal by not stopping two crosses into our box and losing Wayne Grey on one of them. There were a couple of times when we had to scramble, and scramble really well. Clayton's made a penalty save in the first half and if you listen to that you would not believe just how dominant we were.
We are disappointed but the performance level was good. I think we have stepped up each game. We need to learn very quickly that if you make too many unforced errors in this league you get punished. People talk in a tennis match about making unforced errors. While we played really well we just made one or two silly decisions and it's cost us.
Q. How frustrated were you with the missed chances, and how successful was the Mooney - Carneiro partnership?
RM. I thought they played really well. I thought they worked together very very good. They get better match by match. Once we get Butler back I think we have got three forwards, any combination of which will give this division problems. I thought Carlos's movement in behind and running deep was very very good today. He'll learn about what the game is all about here. He knows he has to be stronger and a bit more powerful, but he has missed the first three weeks of pre-season and he'll get better week by week. In training he would side-foot that chance into the bottom corner calm as you like, but he wants a goal, he needs a goal, but unfortunately he snatched at it and put it the wrong side of the post.
Q. Ishmel Demontagnac came on just beyond the hour mark. How would you assess his performance?
RM. Promising, threatening, a real handful as we know. But at the end of the day the end product needs to be a little bit better. And it sums it up in the 89th minute when he has worked his own position, wriggled his way past the full back and crossed it behind the goal. When really all he has got to do is sidefoot it across the goal and Tommy Mooney side-foots it in. He'll learn from that, no doubt he'll get better as the weeks go on. Remember it's only his first game since the summer. I thought he was very unlucky to get the yellow card, I don't know what the blazes that was for. But to be honest very promising.
Q. Rhys Weston defended well and also got forward with good effect . . .
RM Well I think he I think he is a very capable right back. He is a good athlete, good size, very quick, good in the air at the back post. His service is very good. He has literally come on the pitch and played. He started to get a bit of cramp after an hour so we took him off as a precaution, nothing more than that. But again a very promising, pleasing debut.
Q. Ian Roper came in to show there is competition for places in that part of the field.
RM. Yes. To leave Anthony Gerrard out was not an easy decision. He has not done too much wrong in the first two games and I am sure he will be banging on my door on Monday morning, and rightly so, wanting to know why he did not play. But Ian gives us just a bit more toughness. Wins the first header, and a bit more experience, so it was not an easy decision, but one you have got to take as a manager.
Q. Any thoughts about the penalty award?
RM Well they actually said at half time that it was outside the box and a yellow card was the right decision. But Clayton's made the save and it did not make too much difference. Unfortunately we could not back him up by getting the result that the team deserved.
Q. After this game I guess it is one draw and one goal in three. How important is it for you to keep your head?
RM Well that is a manager's job to keep your head when all around you are losing theirs. Well that is one draw and one defeat. We lost in the Carling Cup. To be perfectly honest with you - so what we lost we're out, let's get on with it. The league is our bread and butter. That is one and half good performances, I can take lot of encouragement from that. I think that once we settle down next week and analyse it properly the players will realise, which I think they do already, that they played well. But performances are one thing, it is important to get the right type of footballers because that is how you win matches. We all know at the end of the day the bottom line is results. We don't like losing matches at this football club. We have only lost eight in the league since I came here. But that one today hurts, big time.
