|
|
'The manager needs to stay' - Wolves captain Roger Johnson back Mick McCarthy despite 11 game winless streak
Wanderers skipper claims players fully support their boss and states he must remain at Molineux in order for the club to survive the drop again this season
2 Feb 2012 14:00:00
By Nathan Lowe
Getty Images
Wolves captain Roger Johnson has rallied behind manager Mick McCarthy following a scathing indictment of the club's performance by owner Steve Morgan following their 11th game without a win on Tuesday.
The club chairman reportedly charged into the dressing room following the club's 3-0 home loss to Liverpool and ripped into the side's performance in front of the manager.
The captain, though, was unequivocal in his support for McCarthy and promised the players will hold themselves accountable in their bid to stay in the Premier League.
"Changing the manager isn't going to change what the players do on the pitch," Johnson told reporters.
"Unfortunately, that's what it's like in football. The manager's head's on the chopping block. It's unfortunate.
"For me and all the lads, the manager needs to stay. We respect the manager massively.
"He's the man to get us out of it, he's done it before and he'll do it again. [He's a fighter], you can't really get a better man for the job.
"We've let ourselves down – the players on the pitch are the ones who let the staff and the fans down."
Despite their long wait for a win, the Black County club have actually drawn four in a row on the road, and the defender expects that form to be carried into this weekend's fixture against QPR.
"For some reason, we're decent away from home - we'll all be pushing in the right direction," Johnson said.
"We've all got to be together at this stage of the season - the fans and the board, everybody, but it's the staff and the players who are going to get us results.
"Of course, no-one's given up - there are 15 games to go. That's a lot of points to be played for, and we'll be there until the death."
"We've had our meetings, we know what we've got to do - we've got a massive game on Saturday.
19th-placed Wolves travel to London to face 16th place QPR Saturday afternoon.
|
Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
The club chairman reportedly charged into the dressing room following the club's 3-0 home loss to Liverpool and ripped into the side's performance in front of the manager.
The captain, though, was unequivocal in his support for McCarthy and promised the players will hold themselves accountable in their bid to stay in the Premier League.
"Changing the manager isn't going to change what the players do on the pitch," Johnson told reporters.
"Unfortunately, that's what it's like in football. The manager's head's on the chopping block. It's unfortunate.
"For me and all the lads, the manager needs to stay. We respect the manager massively.
"He's the man to get us out of it, he's done it before and he'll do it again. [He's a fighter], you can't really get a better man for the job.
"We've let ourselves down – the players on the pitch are the ones who let the staff and the fans down."
Despite their long wait for a win, the Black County club have actually drawn four in a row on the road, and the defender expects that form to be carried into this weekend's fixture against QPR.
"For some reason, we're decent away from home - we'll all be pushing in the right direction," Johnson said.
"We've all got to be together at this stage of the season - the fans and the board, everybody, but it's the staff and the players who are going to get us results.
"Of course, no-one's given up - there are 15 games to go. That's a lot of points to be played for, and we'll be there until the death."
"We've had our meetings, we know what we've got to do - we've got a massive game on Saturday.
19th-placed Wolves travel to London to face 16th place QPR Saturday afternoon.
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
|
Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 4-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.
Hosted by Joe Doyle
Hosted by Joe Doyle
20:06 BST
So, that game gave a few players a chance to impress for England. Who did/didn't? Will Welbeck start against France? Or Carroll? Or Defoe?!
19:59 BST
Unfortunately for Northern Ireland, they are trailing the Netherlands 4-0 at half-time. Looks like that one's all sewn up then.
19:54 BST
We're still getting plenty of Hazard chat on Twitter. A few are now saying that he's not worth the hype, others saying he was brilliant(!?) and others (which I agree with), saying he created much of his own hype. What do you think? Get involved!
19:46 BST
Joe Hart has also been giving his thoughts after the Belgium game: "It was a really tough game, a good run out. I thought we played well, [but] we were a little bit bitty at times.
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
19:38 BST
Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
Inside Goal.Com
-
Welbeck convinces Hodgson he is the man to lead the line
England beat Norway 1-0 at Wembley, with the Manchester United man hitting an impressive winner to stake his claim for a starting spot at Euro 2012
-
The five players Rodgers could sign to kick-start revolution
The new Reds boss was unveiled to the press on Friday and must immediately begin work on revitalising a thin squad with some additions in the transfer market
-
Managerial merry-go-round keeps spinning as Lambert takes Villa job
The Scot officially left Norwich City on Saturday to become the second new boss in June, following the appointment of Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool on Friday
-
Rodgers ushers in new Anfield era on his own terms
The Northern Irishman inevitably expressed his delight at landing the Reds job but evidenced plenty of the steely resolve which could see him become a success at Anfield
-
The definitive timeline of FSG's hunt for new manager
Kenny Dalglish's sacking at the end of the season sparked a massive hunt for the next Anfield boss, and the former Swansea man has been chosen after several turned the job down
