Coyle lets rip after Norwich defeat
5:00pm Monday 6th February 2012 in Sport By Marc Iles
OWEN Coyle tore into Wanderers after watching them drop back into the bottom three.
A 2-0 defeat at Carrow Road, coupled with victory for Wolves over QPR, leaves the Whites a point adrift of safety heading into next weekend’s crunch derby with Wigan Athletic.
The manager left his players in no doubt about his disappointment with the slack defending that allowed Norwich to run in two goals in the final 20 minutes of the game.
“I will not stand for that,” Coyle said.
“I think we looked a bit leggy after the number of games we’ve played lately but we got a start in the second half and I think we looked a serious threat.
“But we have given away two very soft goals, particularly the first one that was so avoidable. We cannot defend like that and I have told the players.”
Few players were spared the manager’s scorn, with Coyle claiming that nine players in his starting line-up had allowed their standards to slip following the midweek stalemate against Arsenal.
“In terms of decent performances, Adam Bogdan and David Ngog did well, and so did the skipper (Kevin Davies) when he came on.
“Other than that, I didn’t see anyone who got to the standard they should have,” he said.
Fellow strugglers Wigan make the short trip to the Reebok next weekend, and Coyle will now focus on lifting his team for a game where defeat could have serious ramifications for Premier League survival.
“We've slipped down a place back into the bottom three, and we're not too happy about that,” he said. “But equally, we're the masters of our own destiny. We have to give better performances than we did there.
“It was always going to be a scrap. It will be for the title, the Champions League and the Europa Cup – nothing changes – but you have to move on to the next game and make sure you concentrate on getting maximum points.”
Tyrone Mears made his Wanderers debut some seven months after he arrived in a summer deal with Chris Eagles from Burnley.
But it was a tough baptism for the full-back, who had come in for the injured Gretar Steinsson (hamstring) and Joe Riley (groin).
There was also a first glimpse of £3million striker Marvin Sordell, who came off the bench with 10 minutes to go.
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