Monk defends wholesale changes after Blues exit Carabao Cup
Posted Wednesday, August 15, 2018 by PA
Birmingham manager Garry Monk defended his decision to make 11 changes to his side as they lost 2-0 at Reading in the first round of the Carabao Cup.
Reading dominated the first half and went ahead in the 11th minute when Yakou Meite thundered home a drive from the edge of the area.
Understrength Birmingham improved after the break but were undone again when John Swift cleverly curled in a 72nd-minute free kick.
With the multiple changes, Monk admitted that he had made the home Championship match against Swansea on Friday a priority.
“We’ve got a game on Friday,” Monk said. “Had that game been on Saturday, then I’d probably have made less changes.
“But it’s a big game. I’ve stated it already, the league is the most important thing for us this season. I think everyone understands that.
“But even still, you approach the game to try to win. Just because it’s not a league game, you still try to win.
“We weren’t on the front foot enough in the first half. We gave the impetus to Reading and obviously got punished for that.
“I thought that in the second half, up to the second goal, we were the team much more on the front foot and might have been likely to get that equaliser.
“But once the second goal went in, that hurt a little bit.
“You have to take opportunities when you get them but we didn’t.”
After two successive Championship defeats, Reading manager Paul Clement was pleased with the victory.
“It wasn’t really a relief,” Clement said. “After our performances in the last two games, we weren’t that far away.
“They were two very difficult games (against Derby County and Nottingham Forest).
“Anyone who saw the Derby game, we were arguably the better side.
“Forest was a decent away performance but we didn’t get anything from that.
“But the performances were not bad. You keep putting those in and it’s just a matter of time before the result comes – and it did tonight.”
Clement made five changes to his starting line-up.
“It’s a question of getting the balance, with not too many changes, because we have got to get a bit of momentum going,” he added.
“At the same time, we used some players who have been unlucky not to have started in the last games.
“If we’re going to be successful this season, it’ll be down to our togetherness, our unity and players stepping up when it’s their chance.
“We should have been further ahead at half time if we’d been more clinical and ruthless.
“When it’s still 1-0, you always think there’s a chance coming for the other side – and Birmingham had a couple.”
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