Speaking after Charlton’s disappointing 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon a frustrated Lee Bowyer, gave his verdict on the game, what needs to be done to turn things around and the upcoming fixture against Hull City.
When asked about the match, Bowyer bemoaned costly mistakes as the culprit for the defeat.
“I’m frustrated and disappointed again. You can’t just give teams one goal each, no matter what league you’re playing in. We’re not good enough to give teams a one-goal lead, for sure.
“It’s amateur. You play a 10-yard pass and you put them through and then bang. Goal.
“It drives me mad after all we work on all week and then preparation just goes out the window. I thought we started well and we were on top. We looked like the team that was going to score. And then we just give them a goal. It is kid stuff and then last week was the same.”
Bowyer was also left frustrated after the Addicks failed to take their chances in the second half.
“I thought that in the second half we were the better side but we have to be more ruthless. We had three clear-cut chances and we have to score. We have to score at least one.
“I think we deserved at least a draw going on the second half. They did have a few chances but that was because we were pushing so hard for the goal.”
When asked if anything changes, Bowyer explained that the target is still to reach that safety mark.
“Nothing changes. We still have to get to the points mark to stay safe. Naturally, this is a game that you’d look at on paper, and want to win. On another day we would have won it.
"It’s now nine games to go. It’s as simple as that. We just need men to stand up and fight. In the second half I thought that we did that. But we need to do that for the next nine games and we can’t be giving teams a goal head-start because if we do that then we put ourselves in trouble.”
Bowyer also reinforced that everyone involved with the club sticks together amidst a difficult spell for the Addicks.
“Just stick together, it’s what I’ve just said to the players. Don’t turn on each other and try and pin the blame on someone else. We have to all stick together and fight.
“I just walked round the pitch as I always do and clapped the fans. Win, lose or draw they always get behind the fans and the football club and they’re great at it. I always appreciate it and I show my appreciation to them because they deserve that.”
Focus now turns to next week’s match against struggling Hull and Bowyer was frank about what needs to be done when Charlton make the trip to the KCOM Stadium.
“Hull are in poor form. We need to take advantage of that so we’ll go there and hopefully get the three points.”