Simon Wants Direct Football

Last updated : 27 October 2003 By Mark Heys
Bolton Wanderers defender Simon Charlton beleives that the team need to start grinding out the results even if it is at the expense of cutting out the pretty football and beleives that a more direct approach is the only way forward.

"It's all right to say we've been playing some good stuff but that's no good if we aren't getting the results. We stopped playing pretty football in the second half and got the ball up to Kevin Davies and Mario Jardel, when he came on, quite quickly" he said

"It was a hell of a lot more effective and, until luck does turn our way, we've got to put away the pretty stuff and start playing ugly football if that is what will get us a good result.

He also pointed out the importance of getting more points on the board as quickly as possible, as the Wanderers only have one win all season which came at home to Middlesbrough in September.

"We have to be boosted by the fact that we should have taken more points and it's quite annoying when we look at the games we could have won. But `could have' are the most useless words in the English language.

Charlton also stated that the team need to improve on their goalscoring ratio and pull together as a team and share the responsibility of getting the goals in a season which was so far seen Wanderers hit the net just 8 times in league competition.

"We've got to get round this problem. I don't know how we are going to do it but we've got to start scoring. I know the manager is having sleepless nights about it.

"It's not just the forward lads, it's everybody who goes up for set pieces. The ones who are going to score are the ones willing to get their nose broken by putting their head in harm's way."