Post-game quotes from the interim manager following defeat at Griffin Park
Jimmy Phillips spoke to the media following Bolton’s 3-1 defeat against Brentford at Griffin Park.
Bolton were well beaten in West London and were three goals down after just 36 minutes.
Wanderers steadied the ship after the half time interval and reduced the deficit from the penalty spot, Zach Clough converted from 12 yards out after Kaiyne Woolery had been fouled.
And speaking in his post-match press conference Phillips covered the below points.
On the first half performance…
We were dreadful defensively in the first half. It was a very poor defensive display. We set up to press Brentford quite high up the pitch. We wanted to stop Alan McCormack getting on the ball. I think we probably did that to an extent and made Brentford play a little more direct.
On the first half problems…
Within our back four we had a player who I believe to be the quickest defender at the club. We wanted to cope with any balls over the top and we failed to cope with that in the first half. We were better and more competitive in the second half, but we gave ourselves way too much to do. We’ve got to compete first and foremost before we can play. We failed to do that in the first half.
On team selection…
We lacked experience at the back. Alex Finney came in and maybe struggled a little so we opted to switch it at half time. We’re in a position where we’ve got to be looking at what is going to happen next season and which players are likely to be around. Within that, we’ve still got to remain competitive.
On the upcoming games…
The facts are there that we could go down on Saturday at Derby. With the games we’ve got left it’s about time the players gave the supporters something to actually cheer about. First half displays like tonight aren’t good enough.