11:30am Thursday 26th November 2009
By Brian Owen
Not a ranter and raver. More calm and constructive.
That was the first indication of how Gus Poyet deals with adversity as a new manager.
The picture emerging from Carrow Road, where Albion lost 4-1 on Tuesday night against Norwich, was that Poyet kept his cool with his side 2-0 down at the break.
Gary Dicker just wishes the players could have responded better.
Dicker said: “In fairness to the gaffer he didn’t come in ranting and raving.
“He said what he had to say and we started the second half well and got a goal and then switched off as soon as we were back in the game.
“You listen to what he says and he talks a lot of sense, it’s not just shouting and screaming.
“But he’ll let you know if you are not doing your job, defintely.
“I think that’s good about him. He knows what he wants, he knows what way we want to play. I know it’s easy to come in and rant and rave and he probably will have a word and let you know what you’re doing.
“But I can’t fault him, It’s up to us do the business on the pitch.”
Maybe Poyet’s poise was due to his faith that, even at 2-0, the contest was not over.
The boss said: “Even at half-time I had a feeling the game was there for us to win. I think the players believed in that.”
After the dream start, the last two games have been a case of back down to earth for the new management, Dicker is realistic enough to know that was always going to happen at some stage, especially given the tough sequence of fixtures.
He said: “I know we had two good wins and the fans were probably thinking this and that but that’s football.
“It’s not always going to be that way, like someone comes in and it’s always going to be rosy.
“But the gaffer has told us we have to stick together as a group.
“He’s right. I know everyone says ‘stay together’ but that’s all you can do when you’re in a position like this.”
He added: “We’re down there for a reason. We haven’t been consistent enough at all and that’s our fault as players.
“You can talk about managers and coaches and whatever but we’re the players and we’re the ones out there doing it.
“We worked hard. We huffed and puffed but we’ve got to be better, be a hell of a lot more solid.
“There’s a game on Saturday and hopefully we can win that.
“I’d rather have won on Tuesday than on Saturday if I’m being honest.
“I know it’s the FA Cup and all that but I don’t want to be hanging on at the bottom of the league and coming to Christmas and be in a scrap. You’re on pitches that are chopped up and scrapping for your life.”
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