Parkinson satisfied with Bolton efforts despite Boro defeat

Posted Thursday, September 20, 2018 by PA

Bolton manager Phil Parkinson felt his players produced a performance Stephen Darby would be proud of despite slipping to a 2-0 defeat at Middlesbrough.

Parkinson and his players have endured an extremely difficult week after 29-year-old Darby was forced to retire because he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

Parkinson broke the news to his squad on Monday, and admits there was a sombre mood on the training ground as Bolton’s players prepared for their trip to the Riverside.

Goals from George Saville and Britt Assombalonga ensured they were forced to travel back across the Pennines empty-handed, but Parkinson was happy with the way they conducted themselves after such a traumatic few days.

Parkinson said: “It’s been a tough couple of days for us all. But we’re professionals, and we have to get on with it.

“I’ve worked with Stephen for a long time, and it was important that we put in a performance that reflected his character. Despite not getting the right result, I thought we did that.”

Parkinson was disappointed with the soft concession of Saville’s opener, but felt his side’s second-half efforts merited at least a point.

He said: “Looking at the second half, I thought we deserved to get something. Middlesbrough have probably spent more money than anyone else in the division, but we equipped ourselves well, contained them and I’m just disappointed with the first goal because we’ve gifted it to them and that knocked us.

“We were great in the second half, terrific, and probably deserved to get a bit back. We threw David Wheater up front and threw caution to the wind, so I’m not too bothered about the second goal, but there were a lot of positives and some good performances.”

Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis was delighted with his side’s reaction to their first defeat of the season last weekend, but admits his players will have to be more clinical if they want to keep up the pressure on Championship leaders Leeds.

Pulis said: “I thought we played really well in the first half, but we’ve got to make sure that we take our chances and the opportunities we get.

“When we’re in the final third, we’ve got to make sure that the passing and decision-making is better.

“There were two opportunities in the first and second half when we could have played the ball across the goal, but people have shot. If they’d played the ball across the goal, there was someone there who could have tapped it into the net.

“We have people shooting when they can play people in, and for all that we do well, we need people to really be composed in that final third. The opportunities were there today.”