Coyle: We just didn't defend as we know we can
4:30pm Monday 6th February 2012 in Sport By Marc Iles
SOME familiar problems came back to haunt Owen Coyle, providing a telling reminder that – however improved they might look – Wanderers are still right in the thick of a relegation battle.
The Whites boss conceded that after playing six games in January, there were signs of mental and physical fatigue in the 2-0 defeat at Carrow Road.
But the real reason for the defeat boiled down to a very simple notion, according to Coyle, and that was his side simply didn’t defend with the same kind of gusto that had kept Arsenal and Liverpool largely at bay in recent weeks.
“We didn’t defend well enough to keep Norwich out and, ultimately, that was the tale of the game,” he said.
“We’re disappointed and that’s a natural reaction, especially when, before, we had given a decent performance and reached a high level. But we didn’t do that against Norwich.
“It can be for a number of reasons. We’ve played a lot of games in a short period of time, that could have caught up with them.
“Ultimately, we didn’t hit the heights which we had in the previous couple of months, and that’s not good enough if we want to pick up points and move up the league.”
Coyle picked out Adam Bogdan, David Ngog and substitute Kevin Davies as the only players he thought had done themselves justice on a chilly afternoon.
Wanderers fell back into the bottom three, and as such, increased the need to get a result against local rivals Wigan Athletic at the Reebok on Saturday.
After seeing Norwich bounce back with such ferocity after their 3-0 defeat at Sunderland in midweek, Coyle is confident he will see a similar reaction against the Latics.
“You can’t feel sorry for yourselves, you have to pick yourselves up and go again,” he said. “We know we’ve got good players and a good team and at our best we can win matches. That’s what we’ve shown over the last couple of matches and what we have to get back to.
“When you’ve just lost, the next game becomes even bigger. That’s par for the course.
“That’s when you deal with pressure, as you call it. That’s football pressure and that’s why we love being in this game. We’ll look forward to the game next week and make sure we get back to our very best.”
Coyle also welcomed Tyrone Mears into the team for the first time since his summer move from Burnley after a broken leg had ruined the first seven months of his time at the Reebok.
“It’s great to have Tyrone back,” he said. “He’s worked hard to get back to a good level now.
“Gretar Steinsson had a hamstring injury and Joe Riley has hurt his groin and had to miss out, so Tyrone came in.
“He’ll need more games to get to the level he’s capable of. He’s played three or four (for the reserves) and a couple of behind-closed-doors games.
“But it’s playing in the Premier League that really brings you on and he’ll improve because of this today. If there is a positive to come out of the game it’s having Tyrone back.”
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