Neil Lennon has demanded more quality from his Bolton Wanderers side after they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Charlton at the Valley last night.
A dominant Wanderers second-half performance was to no avail despite Dean Moxey’s first goal for the club after George Tucudean and Johnnie Jackson had netted for the Addicks.
Lennon bemoaned the fact that his side were unable to find an equaliser despite having 19 shots to Charlton’s five during the 90 minutes.
“To use a golfing analogy, tee to green we were very good, but we’re struggling with the five-foot putts,” said the Northern Irishman.
“Even at 2-0 I believed we would get something out of the game. At times in the second half it was like the Alamo and [our goalkeeper] Andrew Lonergan pretty much got frostbite.
“It’s okay us standing here and saying we played well, but that’s no real consolation as we lost the game.
“I’m sick of hearing about our fight and commitment. That’s the bare minimum I expect from the players. We want to see some quality.”
Despite the Trotters’ inability to convert their pressure into a result, there were several positives from a game in which Bolton were the dominant side for large periods.
Lennon explained that Charlton manager Bob Peeters was impressed with the way Bolton have developed in recent weeks.
However, the Trotters remain 23rd in the Championship with just eight points from a possible 39 and their 43-year-old manager knows they need rapid improvement.
“He paid us a big compliment saying that we were a completely different team to the one he watched at Fulham a few weeks ago,” Lennon said.
“That’s nice, and we do, but the result was the same so I’m angry. We have to get rid of the anxiety in the final third.
“I feel that in my time here we’ve shown very good desire, but we maybe have a bit of a soft centre when trying to see games out. That’s something we have to address.”
Main image courtesy of Celtic FC via YouTube, with thanks.
