Source: Northern_Echo
Cooper reflects on woe
AS he watched Middlesbrough being hammered by West Brom last Saturday, Colin Cooper admitted that he was tempted to do the same to his players when they left the pitch.
But since being appointed as Gareth Southgate’s assistant in June, Cooper has come to understand that Boro’s young squad would not benefit from feeling the full force of his temper.
Nevertheless, the management team have made it clear to their players that Saturday’s performance was unacceptable but they must regard defeat as a temporary setback or risk their promotion challenge becoming derailed.
“By nature I am a fairly aggressive person and my instinct was to hammer them after a game like that,” admitted Cooper.
“I think that if hard things need to be said then I will say them. We had a frank exchange of views after the game and on the training pitch this week.
“But I don’t think you need to rant and rave because these lads care.
“And they are such a young group that if you were to hammer them, while I might make myself feel better, I suspect it could shatter their confidence.
“The biggest concern for us against West Brom was that for the first time this season we looked vulnerable. It was a shock to see us exposed, we didn’t look like a team.”
An experienced figure could soon be back in the Boro squad as Emanuel Pogatetz continues his rehabilitation from knee surgery with another run out for Middlesbrough reserves who travel to Hartlepool United this evening.
Cooper confirmed that the Austria international could be among the players travelling to Coventry City this weekend.
“We will assess him in the reserve game with a view for Saturday. He won’t start down at Coventry, that’s for sure, but to have an experienced player back in the squad would be very welcome.
Poggy would bring a certain presence and authority,” said the assistant boss.
Since relegation in May, Southgate and Keith Lamb, the Middlesbrough chief executive, have tried to persuade disillusioned fans to continue to back their team.
But Cooper acknowledged that suffering such a heavy defeat to one of their main Championship rivals would do little to bolster attendances at the Riverside.
“The fans leaving the ground on Saturday will have been gutted – no-one was more gutted than me or any of the staff or players,’’ he said.
“We are trying to get more people to come and watch us this season. I’d ask the people in Teesside to come back and give the players another go, they are worth another go because they are a cracking set of young lads who are desperate to get us back in the Premier League.
“When I was the same age as some of these lads I was playing in front of 3,000 at Ayresome Park not 23,000 at the Riverside.
“I know what the core supporters of this football club like – they want players who give their lot. To get out of this division we need the people of Middlesbrough to get behind the team.
“And on the pitch we need to get back to basics so when we look back on the season, the West Brom game was just a blip rather than the game when our season went on the slide.”
