"We didn't reach anywhere near the standard we are capable of," says Coyle
Owen Coyle has expressed his disappointment after Wanderers’ latest pre-season friendly against Portsmouth.
“We always knew it was going to be a game of intensity but we didn’t do ourselves any credit and reach anywhere near the standard we are capable of,” said Coyle in his post-match press conference.
“The bottom line is that we lost a game we didn’t want to and I’ve let it be known to one or two that the standard has to be better than the one we have seen today.
“I actually thought we started well and had a great chance to score when their goalkeeper made a good save.
“But we have lost soft goals, although for their second goal, you can’t dispute the quality because it was a fantastic free-kick from Liam Lawrence.
“But fair play to Portsmouth. They were fired-up given all that had gone on at the football club and there was a great turnout by their supporters.
“We always knew it was going to be that type of game but, from our point of view, we have to play better. We’ll certainly learn a lot from today.
“What pre-season brings is a chance to rectify that in the build-up to the kick-off to the season, which is what we will do.
“When you come onto the pitch wearing a Bolton Wanderers shirt, you have to be ready. For parts of the game today, we didn’t do ourselves justice.
“We’ve brought in young Benik Afobe, who I thought did well in the second half, he looked sharp and could have got himself a goal with his first touch. That augers well because he looks a real goal threat.
“We’ll now continue with our programme of pre-season games with Tranmere away on Tuesday, leading into Barcelona B at the Reebok next Friday.”