Rovers manager Ronnie Moore spoke to his club’s official website after his side’s 4-1 League One defeat against Carlisle at Brunton Park, Moore saying that the second-half performance from the visitors was gutless and unacceptable:
“If you look at the first-half, to concede a goal after what, 30 seconds or whatever it was and then really to have a lot of the game, it was wide open to be fair, it could have gone either way and we have had good chances to score. But, then the second-half performance was unacceptable, it was gutless, that is as bad as I have seen a back four since I have been a manager. We have backed off, been mentally and physically weak.
“The problem we have got is there not a great deal we can do as a back four, although I suppose Liam Ridehalgh did alright and Owain Fon Williams made some good saves. But, as for the rest of the side, I think we had four players today, Jason Koumas was the best player on the park, young Kristoffer Peterson had his moments and really could have scored first-half. Ryan Lowe obviously with his life and Liam and Fonners has made a couple of saves.
“But, you can’t have that, in the position we are in we need men who are going to be proud to wear the shirt. I just said to them those types of performances today get you the sack, they were gutless and they gave me nothing. I put that eleven out there to go and fight and roll their sleeves up, the most important game we have had this season because our season starts today, that is what it is all about.
“We win this today and we are on the march up this league, we have lost 4-1 to Carlisle who are in a very similar position to us. It is nine goals conceded in two games now and I told them that they are not doing me any favours. But, there is not a great deal we can do, we have worked hard to stop them conceding goals and yet you see a performance like that today and it is soul destroying for me, the supporters, the chairman, everyone associated with the club.
“The supporters came up here on a horrible windy day and they have seen a decent game first-half but then they have seen so much bad, bad defending. As a group of lads not enough pride and passion in the Tranmere shirt. I have put the eleven out so I must take some stick for that, but I expect if we are going to go down we go down fighting with a bit of heart and desire. But, it didn’t happen and that is the disappointing thing for me.
“So, they will all be in tomorrow and we will get things sorted because we have got another massive game. Not only that but the four goals hurt us again, the goal difference is going to be so, so important for us. But, we can’t defend it, I don’t care who you play, you can’t defend the way we did today and expect to win. We were found wanting in a lot of the places in the second-half, that is the disappointing thing for me and it was nowhere near what we need.
“To come back from the early goal, it is a hell of a finish, there is not a great deal we can do about that, and then we gradually got ourselves into the game, we had the wind, both sides have had one or two little chances. So, it was a wide open game but we just needed that goal to come in at half-time at 1-1 and to have a real go in the second-half. But, we have backed off and self-destructed if you look at it. But, I was pleased for Koumas because he is getting to those fitness levels and you have seen today what he is all about.
“We have to be strong, you have to be men at the back and we weren’t today. We backed off and backed off, they are shooting from the edge of our box when we should have had them on the half-way line. The two centre-halves looked like strangers today, they need to win that first ball and it wasn’t good enough from them, and they know, they have been told. I wasn’t good enough all round from myself and the players.
“If I had paid money to come up here and travelled three hours and watched that second-half performance the way that the team defended then I wouldn’t be too happy that’s for sure. The players have got to grow up and be men, that is what the game is about, we are in a position where we don’t want to be and the only way to get out of it is to roll your sleeves up, get out on the pitch and give your all. We have to be compact as a team and we can’t defend the way we did, it was gutless.
“We changed it today and put Koumas in behind Lowe to get him on the ball and he was spraying it all over the place. But, it is that defensive weakness where we are not a physical back four, we are not big, strong, aggressive. We don’t get cuts on our heads and we don’t throw our head in where it hurts and if you don’t do that as a centre-half then there is something wrong. So, if we play like we did second-half we haven’t got a chance and we have got to put some spirit into them and fire into their bellies.”