Wednesday, April 12, 2006

 

NRC: We bottled it

Nigel Reo-Coker has revealed his disappointment at his team's defeat at Stamford Bridge earlier in the week.

"Losing 4-1 at Chelsea on Sunday was very disappointing for everyone at West Ham," the club captain told website icons.com. "It hurt us to lose so heavily against ten men, especially as we'd started off so brightly and taken the lead. Most times this season we've acquitted ourselves well, but on this occasion there wasn't much that any of us can be happy about. Looking back we just didn't go for it enough. When Maniche was sent off we should have gone for the jugular but for some reason we didn't push on. It wasn't down to anyone in particular because no one said we should sit back, but it happened to us collectively during the game."

"Despite our own frustration I think you have to give credit to Chelsea. It's never easy playing with ten men but they made it look very, very easy. They showed their international quality when they needed it most, and that has to be the sign of champions. When they were up against it in the first half they found an edge that they needed to come out of the match on top. They proved that they have the character to handle pressure, so fair play to them."

Reo-Coker is looking forward to making amends in future performances. "The best way I can describe our performance is that it was a glitch. We are angry with how we underperformed and want to put it behind us as quickly as we possibly can. For me, the match was another valuable learning experience. I wasn't overly happy about how it went but you never fail to learn something when you come up against world class players."

And on the reported transfer rumours, he added, "It was interesting to see my name linked with Manchester United in one of the Sunday papers last weekend. If it's true then I am greatly flattered, but whether anything ever comes of it is another matter. I am more than happy here at West Ham and don't take any notice of other speculation."




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