Source: Northern_Echo
Fans not to blame, insists Leroy
AN honest Leroy Lita last night refused to blame any external factors for Middlesbrough's dreadful home form, and insisted that the players had to take full responsibility for Tuesday's horror-show against Blackpool.[LNB] The Teessiders performed abjectly en route to a deserved 3-0 defeat, which eradicated the feel-good factor that had been generated by Saturday's five-star display at QPR.[LNB] Blackpool boss Ian Holloway blamed the Riverside crowd for Tuesday's debacle, claiming they were piling unfair expectations on the players.[LNB] But Lita refutes that claim, insisting that he and his team-mates must shoulder complete responsibility for the defeat.[LNB] I don't think the fans are to blame one little bit, said the striker. We let ourselves down, it's as simple as that.[LNB] The fans could see that we didn't perform. If I was a fan, I wouldn't have wanted to cheer that on Tuesday either.[LNB] As players, we blame ourselves for what happened. Saturday was a great result and a great performance, but we let ourselves down massively on Tuesday night.[LNB] It's hard to put our finger on what went wrong, but we have to hold our hands up and say we didn't perform as a team.[LNB] We weren't at it one little bit. It's disappointing, but we can't dwell on it. There's still a long way to go and we can put things right.[LNB] That process begins with tomorrow's home game against Cardiff, and while a run of one home win from seven matches has hardly led to an optimistic mood, Lita feels Boro's young squad could benefit from current events in the long run.[LNB] We're a young group of lads so in a strange way maybe this will do us some good, he said. We can learn from this and make a commitment that we don't want to play like we did again.[LNB] It brings people closer together.[LNB] The test of someone's character is when things aren't going right. When things are going great, we're all happy and chirpy, but the test of character and a team's spirit is when things are going against you like they are at the minute.[LNB] That's when you really see what someone's about, and because of Tuesday, you're going to see what we're about as a team now.[LNB] Lita will continue to partner Dave Kitson in attack tomorrow, and while the Stoke loanee continues to insist he will be returning to the Britannia Stadium when his loan expires at the end of the month, his former Reading team-mate is hoping he can be persuaded to change his mind.[LNB] Since Dave has come in, we've scored a few goals together,[LNB] said Lita. He's an experienced striker who holds the ball up well. He's added quality to the team and we're all delighted that he's here.[LNB] Personally, I'd like to see him stay, but I've said that all along. It's up to him and the club. It's not up to me, but it would be nice if I could play with him all season.[LNB]
