Nakata Takes Criticism On The Chin

Last updated : 01 January 2006 By Matt Bottom
Allardyce says the player hasn't been producing "as much quality as we know he's got", but puts it down to him still requiring time to recover his sharpness.

"I understand, and the manager's right," Nakata told the Sunday Times. "At first I fitted into the team well but then I got tired and now I have to do better. In England, it is much more physical and faster than in Italy.

"You don't have time to rest in a game, sometimes you don't even have time to breathe."

He added: "I like him (Allardyce). He is very open and jokes a lot. Sometimes you don't know if he's joking or being serious but he's very good. A coach who doesn't talk to his players makes them tense.

"When I came here I said I wanted to rediscover my enjoyment of football and I've done that. At Bolton, even in training, the idea is to enjoy it. In Italy it's serious, always. Here it's noisy, informal. In our dressing room there's always music, jokes."

"I'd like to stay at Bolton, but it's something I can't control."