Megson upbeat despite defeat

01 November 2009 09:58
Bolton boss Gary Megson refused to be downhearted despite seeing his side slip to a 4-0 home defeat at the hands of Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea.[LNB]A Frank Lampard penalty in first-half injury-time, awarded after Jlloyd Samuel had been dismissed for a foul on Didier Drogba, set the Blues on their way. And further efforts from Deco, Drogba and a Zat Knight own goal convincingly settled the game in the visitors' favour.[LNB]But Megson defended his players' efforts, saying: "We may have been beaten 4-0, but we were terrific. We matched them in their diamond midfield formation, we didn't struggle against it.[LNB]"But where as they had Lampard, we had Chris Basham; where they had Michael Ballack we had Tamir Cohen and where they had Deco we had Fabrice Muamba. And Chung Yong Lee was up against Michael Essien. You pay big money for that quality, but we worked really hard man-for-man against all four of those players."[LNB]Megson added: "Any of the top six teams playing against ten men and with a lead would not quite have a stroll, but they would do the right things at the right time and that is what Chelsea did.[LNB]"They made nine changes from midweek, and they had plenty to spare. But there has to be some reality here, we were playing against a club who have spent £200m on players, they are one of the best teams in the world and they will have an advantage. They looked very strong, very motivated and they wanted to win everything put in front of them."

Source: Eurosport