These are incredibly frustrating and worrying times for the Clarets. We just cant seem to get a win under our belt. Its easy to make excuses but sometimes you know you just need some luck! In the match yesterday, two struggling sides fought out a tense, scrappy affair and a draw would have been a fair result. If there was going to be a goal in this match it could have gone either way although neither team looked likely to score over 90 minutes.
Fate seemed to take a hand to the detriment of the Clarets last night who suffered from enforced and unsettling changes to the back four and midfield thanks to a sequence of injury problems. It was a mistake by Wade Elliott forced to play in the relatively unfamiliar right-back position, that led to the brutal winner by the Shrimpers in injury time.
Its very easy to say you make your own luck and we should by now be playing with more confidence upfront. It was disappointing that yet again Ade Akinbiyi and Andy Gray failed to have an influence on this game.
A sad dejected, Steve Cotterill must be wondering what he has to do to get a win. What can the guy say or do to calm the Clarets fans fears? Lets hear first what he has to say about last night’s miserable outcome.
‘It is massively disappointing. We had three right backs tonight, but we ran out and that has cost us in the end.
‘Wade had to go in there and made the mistake, but we can’t lay the blame at his door because he was forced to go in there.
‘Wade is probably the one person who is more familiar with that right back spot than anyone else on the field and he has made a mistake.
‘I am not going to condemn him for it because while I am sick, he is probably feeling worse.’
Cotterill continued: ‘I thought it was going to be a hard-earned point and we deserved that.
‘To concede in the 92nd minute was probably the biggest kick in the teeth we could have got tonight.’
‘In the run we are on, we are not going to be playing free-flowing football, as we were early in the season.
‘While we weren’t as good as we were back then there has been nothing wrong with the fight and the desire.
‘It’s just hard for them to relax and they have to just give everything. We have got into a rut and we are finding it hard.
‘I think we have deserved a little luck in the past few weeks, but it hasn’t happened and everyone is hurting in the dressing room.
‘I looked down and saw the supporters at the end and felt sorry for them because they go back feeling down. We feel the same and I don’t think I can ask much more from anyone.
‘Tonight we just weren’t good enough in the right back area from the minute we had the changes and that has cost us because we ran out of players.’
Its so easy for the fickle Clarets fans to call for the head of our manager. Many managers would have been sacked by now but I still hope the Board keep the faith in Steve Cotterill and I am pretty sure they will.
It is getting increasingly difficult to support the manager however when these results continue to go against you. You can understand the frustration and something needs to be done quickly to reverse our fortunes. I dont think changing the manager however will achieve anything. Norwich since sacking Nigel Worthington have not exactly set the division alight and the grass is not always greener!
You have always in my opinion to look at the positives or you would go mental!
Lets look at these:
1. The same team are capable of playing well as proved during the first part of the season. These players have now been supplemented with additional new faces but it is now about time that Gudjonsson, Akinbiyi and Gray start to put in some good performances. I think maybe Djemba-Djemba deserves a run out in preference over Gudjonsson who continues to be underpar.
2. The team are still in 18th place with the teams below us all playing each other over the coming weeks.
3. After the Preston match we have six home games out of the final nine matches. Luton in particular is rapidly becoming a must-win game. One of the matches away includes bottom club Leeds, so again our chances of at least a point should be high.
4. We have one-two valuable games in hand over all the teams below us. Both those games are at home against teams who we could beat (Norwich & Plymouth)
5. We have a vastly superior goal difference to all the teams below us.
6. We are five points clear of Luton and six points clear of Leeds with two games in hand over both. Surely, these two teams wont catch us, if they do maybe we deserve to go down. This means we only have to hope for one team from the following to not hit form:
Hull,Southend,Barnsley,QPR
I cant believe however, we have to even contemplate mentioning the R-word and all the optimism will evaporate if we dont see three points on the table soon.
How many times have you pinched yourself hoping this nightmare will end and you will wake up?
Oh the joys of supporting the Clarets!
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