Pearce defends City kids
23 Oct 2006 - 11:38:11
Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce refused to blame his younger players for a dreadful display in the 4-0 thrashing at Wigan Athletic.
The Citizens were 2-0 down at the JJB Stadium after a mere four minutes and never recovered, being easily swept aside by a rampant Latics outfit.
Pearce told the Manchester Evening News: "When you go away from home, the first thing that you do is establish a platform from which to perform and we managed to do anything but that.
"Two down in four minutes is a mountain to climb. The first goal was decent, but the second was just bad defending and once you are two down, the gameplan goes out of the window.
"One or two of the more seniors players didn't perform and that was disappointing.
"We have got to show a bit more mental strength, we cannot allow people to beat us one-versus-one.
"There was a lack of leadership from some of the senior players. The buck stops with me and them, not the kids."