Paul Dickov Talks About The Game

Last updated : 30 October 2011 By Thetashkentterror

Paul DickovOldham boss Paul Dickov spoke to BBC Radio Manchester after his side's 3-3 League One draw against Carlisle at Brunton Park, Dickov understandably disappointed after the Latics let a 3-0 lead slip :

 

"If you came here before the three games this week, a game at home and two tough away games to Preston and Carlisle and you would get five points out of it then you would probably be half happy. But, it is disappointing to get a point today, we were 3-0 up, playing really well, looking really solid and we lost goals at terrible times, a minute before half time, a minute after half time and then the last minute of the game, plus the naivety and sloppiness of the goals, it is really disappointing.

"To lose one just before half-time and then you get the boys in at half-time 3-1 up and you warn them what Carlisle are going to be about, I know Greg (Abbott's) teams well and they were going to come out and have a right good go at us so you want to weather that storm. But, it is suicidal to concede the second soft, soft goal and then we are up against it all the second half as it got their fans going and got their tails up, and we didn't manage the pressure well enough that they put on us.

"I think we stood up physically, I wouldn't say that was a problem, I think mentally we didn't. You need to switch on all the time and when teams are putting a lot of pressure on you you need eleven men out there. I just felt that possibly a few crumbled under the pressure today, and that is not having a go at my players because they gave me everything they had got, but I am devastated because we should have had three points.

"It is about maintaining standards as much as anything else, and because we are a young group and a young squad we struggle to maintain those standards. We had a fantastic result midweek and we are 3-1 up and at 3-1 up the next goal is vital, if we score the next goal then the game is over, if they score the second as they did then we are under pressure for 45 minutes. You have to give them credit for the way they came back, but it should never have got to that.

"It is very frustrating and nobody is more frustrated than me at the moment, we had a great turnout from the fans again and at 3-0 up you are thinking, without being daft or naive, you think you are going to win the game. It was just the manner and the way we let our standards drop second half, my players went out there today and worked their absolute socks off for me, but our decision makings were poor and that invited pressure on us.

"For the first 44 minutes I thought we contained anything they threw at us and we made them look pretty average, it was a contentious penalty but that got our tails up a little bit and after that some of the football we played was fantastic. The third goal, the passing, the movement and everything else, but after we scored the third goal we stopped doing that and we gave the ball away too cheaply second half.

"We did win the ball back a lot second half but maybe because of the pressure they were putting us under and the pressure that the fans were putting on them as well, rather than just keeping the ball, as soon as we won it back we were snatching at things and giving the ball away too easily. Whereas in the first 44 minutes when we won the ball back we kept it and we were patient and played some really good football, but we didn't see that in the second half."