McCarthy: Probably a Robbery Tuesday, 17th Mar 2015 22:48 Town boss Mick McCarthy felt his side pulled off a “robbery” by beating Bolton 1-0 at Portman Road, believing the Blues played better during their 4-1 defeat at Middlesbrough on Saturday. Asked whether he thought his side just about deserved their win, he said: “I think as managers as coaches we always think that but I’m not quite sure. I’ve just said to someone else, it was never in doubt! “We played better on Saturday, far better on Saturday. But we didn’t concede tonight. How, I don’t know because they had lots of chances and the game was wide open, and we had loads of chances. “But if you’re profligate in front of goal, which they were, and we were until we get the one, which was a pure strike from Tabby. “And that’s all that counts. We’ve played better and lost. We played better on Saturday and lost. It could easily have been 3-3 at half-time. “But at this stage of the season, who gives a flying one? I keep coming back to it. On Saturday, you know I don’t have rose-coloured specs, but I have to analyse it and see the true picture because it’s easy to have knee-jerk reactions; everything’s wrong. “I kept the same team because I thought they were great on Saturday. It’s one of them, if you don’t make changes you get beaten, you’re a chump. If you make changes and you get beaten you’re a chump. We won tonight. I didn’t make any changes and we won.” He admits managers aren't particularly concerned how points coe at this point in a season: “Not at all. Give Bolton some credit. I didn’t see any mugs on their team, by any stretch of the imagination. They’ve got good players. “They came and surprised me, they played 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 or whatever number you want to put on it, they had three at the back. “Rochinha was a handful, we had to stop him in the second half and change the system, which worked. “And thankfully we pinched it, we burgled it, the coppers are coming. There’s been a robbery.” McCarthy wasn’t surprised that there was a nervy atmosphere: “Fans were nervous, I was nervous, anxious, apprehensive, whatever word you want to put on it. “There were nine games left, we’ve a chance of being promoted, still. We’re not going to play silky free-flowing football without nerves at all, that’s just the way it is. “Wait for the next eight, they’re all going to be nervous but I’ll settle for being nervous and scruffy wins.” The Town boss was delighted with the goalscorer: “He was different class, Tabby. It was a pure strike, I’ve told you once already! “I don’t think as a team we functioned brilliantly by any stretch of the imagination. I keep saying that we were better on Saturday and lost 4-1, which was outrageous really. “They didn’t have Patrick Bamford playing for them tonight, of course, I think he scored the winner again tonight for Middlesbrough. It’s just a good feeling, winning a game.” McCarthy said Jonny Parr’s substitution was simply tactical: “Jonny was terrific, it was just purely tactical. “I couldn’t let Rochinha keep running free. Skusey was designated to drop on him and pick him up but it’s difficult if you’ve got somebody who’s good at doing it. “I haven’t seen the kid playing before. I said to TC before the game that he could be their Jonny Williams and that I hoped he wouldn’t be and, of course, he was, except I think Jonny would have scored. “But he played well, he was a real handful, so I had to stop him. That’s why I went 4-3-3.” Bolton manager Neil Lennon was frustrated by his side’s continued failure to take their opportunities: “It’s been endemic of our season away from home. You cannot miss gilt-edged chances like we’ve done tonight against a good side like Ipswich at home. When the game is in the balance anything can happen. “We should have been home and hosed at half-time. Even at the end we’ve had a good chance at the far post and we’ve missed it. It’s football, so nothing surprises you. “Our performance was good and in Rochinha we had the outstanding footballer on the pitch. If he’d scored the one he missed you’d have been talking about one of the goals of the season. We think we’ve found a very good player. “We had a young team out tonight, we rested a few players, McCarthy, Heskey, Le Fondre was ill so had to pull out before the game, which was a blow. I think he would have enjoyed himself out there tonight.”
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