Dougie Freedman's reaction to the 1-0 defeat against Middlesbrough at the Riverside
Dougie Freedman says his side’s season will not be defined by away results and stressed the importance of bouncing back in two upcoming home games at the Reebok.
Bolton’s eight-game unbeaten run came to an end when Middlesbrough, under the guidance of new boss Aitor Karanka, claimed all three points in a closely-contested affair at the Riverside Stadium.
And speaking after the game the manager said he felt his side warranted a point.
“All in all I thought it was a very close game. I don’t feel like we’ve lost three points today, because we didn’t do enough to win the game. I feel as if we’ve lost one.
“Despite losing the game, there’s no blame attached to any of my players. When it comes down to it, they’ve taken their chances in front of goal and we’ve missed ours.
“We managed to wrestle possession back in the second half after some very resolute defending in the first. We created one or two opportunities and on another we would have come away from the game with a result.
“At the moment we’re certainly defending very well. We need to make sure we take the opportunities when we create them.
“We had been conceding too many goals, but we seem to have addressed that issue somewhat. In modern-day football you need to be able to defend well really begin to set attacks in motion.
“We’ve got beat today, but games like this won’t decide our season. It’s home games at the Reebok that will prove crucial. Our form there has got to be maintained.
“We’ll pick ourselves up and go again on Tuesday night. We’ll now see if we have any bounce-back-ability in our ranks.”