Reaction From Saints Boss Nigel Adkins

Last updated : 15 November 2010 By Thetashkentterror

Saints boss Nigel Adkins
Southampton manager Nigel Adkins spoke to BBC Radio Solent and his club's official website after the Saints lost 3-2 against Carlisle at Brunton Park, Adkins annoyed with the way his team let three goals in :


" You can't go away from home and give three poor goals away, end of story. Listen, we had numerous chances to play and to score goals there. The shape was set up nicely to counter-attack their premise of getting the ball forward so that we could dominate the middle of the park and get the ball and pass it and go and counter-attack.

" You could see that the opportunities were there in abundance to go and do it, and then you have got a lack of concentration with the care of pass to go and counter it. Top and bottom, you cannot concede the goals that we have gone and conceded, 2-0 down at half-time, OK, we have got to go and deal with it for the second-half.

" You cannot just get a goal and the game is there to go and totally dominate the second-half. You cannot concede the goal that we have gone and conceded from a set-play where one player doesn't do his job. It is quite simple, we should have got a victory from this game the way it was set up to go and do it.

" There were perfect one on one duels to go and win, there was an opportunity to overload areas and get the ball and pass it. Our players, if they want to step up to the next level then they have got to be better than that and they know it. When you look at our last two performances away from home before today, if you are going to go on about formations the last two performances away from home for me have not been good enough. "



" We have allowed the opposition far too much dominance of the ball, so you come away from home to a team, you could see the threat that they like to get the ball forward to the big centre-forward (Gary Madine) and get the bits and pieces off that.

" You had to make sure that you dominated the first ball so that you had the second ball so that you can then go and counter-attack and then go the other way. There is more than one different way to play football, if we had taken our chances, there are several opportunities there, (Adam) Lallana could have put us 1-0 up.

" All the way through it, (Richard) Chaplow had a few opportunities, (Alex Oxlade-)Chamberlain, Rickie (Lambert), there are players there who could have scored goals alright and goals change games. At the end of the day the formation was set up there to win a game of football, we have gone and changed it in the second-half to 4-4-2 as the second-half has gone on.

" Listen, there are three or four different ways you can play football you know. It was there to go and win the game, there wasn't an issue with it, and you look at the opportunities where Chaplow has gone through there, that is what we were looking at.

" A midfield player running through to go in there, he has got to hit the target, he should score from there, he has dragged the ball wide of the goal. There were several good opportunities that we had presented ourselves with to go and score. We should have come away from that with a 2-0 victory if not more, you cannot concede the goals we have gone and conceded. "



" I am going to sit down and obviously review the tape, hindsight is a wonderful thing as everybody knows. We sit down and we look at what we believe is right at the time with the information we have got to try to win a game of football. That is what we have done, I want to be a winner, I want to win every game, and there were certainly enough opportunities to win this game.

" What you can't do is give three goals away, it doesn't matter how you play, you cannot give three goals away but that is what we have gone and done. One is a own goal, the first one and then obviously the third one with one player not doing his job allows them a goal margin where when you look at it we are in the ascendancy.

" I told them at half-time that they needed to do better than they did in the first-half. It is as simple as that in respect of passing the football and creating opportunities. Because we did create opportunities in the first-half but goals change the complexion of games, it is as simple as that.

" You come away from home on a big pitch to try to dominate a game of football and there are periods there where we should have done. We should have gone on and won the game, the fact of the matter is we are on the wrong side of the scoreline.

" We have lost the game of football so everyone can analyse that whichever way you want. We have been successful if you like in the way that we tried to play 4-4-2. At the end of the day, experience as well, this is a very, very wide football pitch and at the end of the day if you don't dominate possession of the football then you are chasing it all the way through. "



" So, we have put ourselves in a formation there with five forward thinking players to bomb on where you have got Chaplow and Morgan Schneiderlin, where really we are looking for them to go on beyond Lambert. Then where you have got Lallana and you have got Chamberlain, that is an offensive five to try to make sure that we get the ball and get forward, and try to get the two full-backs (Dan Harding and Frazer Richardson) pushing on as well.

" If you look at that formation you will probably find that all the top teams in the divisions, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, probably play exactly the same formation as that. So, we can analyse different formations, different people's options and priorities on how they want to go and play a game of football.

" Ultimately when you have got the ball you have got eleven forwards, when you haven't got the ball you have got eleven defenders, it is as simple as that, don't complicate the issue. It's good to actually analyse people's character and characteristics and who's going to go with us to the next level.

" In football there's always another game and that's what we've got to build towards. We've conceded three very, very poor goals. Individual mistakes have cost us dearly and you can't do that if you want to perform at this level - and we want to perform at the next level.

" We feel for the supporters today, because they've come up in their numbers again to see the team and we're thankful for that, trust me. What we've got to do is make sure the next games we've got coming at home that we go out and strive as best we can to win games of football. We're in the building and looking at the players and how they react when they're put under pressure, when they're taken out of their comfort zone and when things are going against them. "