Midfielder offers his thoughts following his first appearance for Wanderers against Derby County
Although disappointed as his Bolton Wanderers debut ended in defeat against Derby County, recent loan acquisition Barry Bannan has called for the team to put the result behind them as soon as possible, starting with Tuesday’s visit of Fulham to Macron Stadium.
Joining the Whites on deadline day from Premier League outfit Crystal Palace, the midfielder went straight into the starting XI for Bolton at the iPro Stadium and completed the full 90 as Neil Lennon’s side slipped to defeat against the Rams.
Speaking to bwfc.co.uk following the final whistle in Derby, the Scotland international admitted his frustration at a difficult day for Wanderers.
“On the whole, the performance wasn’t good enough from us,” said Bannan. “All of the lads in the dressing room are capable of a lot better than they showed today out on that pitch.
“I think for the first 20 minutes we were the better side, but when a wonder goal put them ahead we really let ourselves down from thereon in.
“For the first 40 minutes, I felt like we went toe to toe with them – the only thing that let us down was the fact that for all the possession we had, we didn’t really create enough.
“Up until their opener, we were right in the game but from then on we know that we really should have performed better.”
He continued: “It was massively disappointing for us to concede so soon after half time too – we’d just had a team talk and then we were suddenly three down which was hard to take.
“You’ve got to give yourself a chance, and we didn’t really do that today – we’re just really disappointed in ourselves as we know we’re a lot better.”
With the clash at the iPro Stadium being Bannan’s first in a Bolton shirt, the 25-year-old confessed that that although there was scant consolation for the Whites on the day, he was pleased to be on the field of play.
“Personally I think that I could have played better, but on the whole I’m just glad to be out there playing football again really.
“The one positive that I can take from the game is that I got 90 minutes under my belt and made my debut which I was really pleased to do.”
“On the whole, I think it was just one of those freak results,” he added. “You’ve just got to put it behind you as quickly as possible and kick on from here.
“I’ve seen enough from the boys in training so far to know that there’s plenty of quality in that changing room.
“Obviously the injuries that we have at the minute are taking their toll – no matter how good a team you are, a couple of injuries to key players will affect you in some way.”
With two matches on home soil against Fulham and Watford to come for Bolton, Bannan, who took the captain’s armband for the second half of the clash following the half-time withdrawal of David Wheater, called for his new teammates to bounce back
at the first time of asking.
“We’ve got two massive home games coming up, so we need to put the Derby game behind us straight away and try and get six points this coming week.
“That’s the great thing about football – you’re disappointed today, but you’ve got to push that aside now as there’s a game right around the corner for you to go out there and put on a performance.”