Inside View with Charlton defender Christian Dailly
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After every match, the media ask to
talk to a player from each team, and I got the nod from the gaffer
following Saturday’s defeat to Millwall.
I’ve been in the game a few years now,
and one thing I’ve learned is that you have to face up to
things.
We weren’t good enough on the day, and
that’s what I told the reporters.
Taking on Millwall at The New Den, in
front of a sell-out home crowd and 3,000 of our own fans, was a big
occasion.
But in many ways the occasion is
irrelevant. Some basics – competing for every ball, doing the
simple things well, concentrating at all times – are required in
every match, and that’s the starting point for every team.
Although we did okay in the first
half, we just weren’t mentally strong enough after they scored just
before half-time, and that really showed when they scored three
goals in a matter of minutes.
There is a reason why Norwich are top
of the league and looking good for automatic promotion at the
moment.
They set their stall out the same
every time they take to the field and they don’t make silly
mistakes. Consistency will take you a long way in this league and
they’ve done that brilliantly. They may not be at their best every
week, but they get results.
We shouldn’t beat ourselves up too
much, though. We have good spells, but we don’t quite have that
consistency. We need to iron out our mistakes, but we are still
fourth in the table, with a lot of games to come against our
rivals.
The reporters were very keen to ask me
about a similar own goal I scored for West Ham – or rather against
West Ham – at the same ground six years earlier. That was also on
Mother’s Day, which made things easier for them when they were
writing their headlines.
It’s not one of my luckiest grounds,
and my own goal was actually very similar to the one before.
In truth, though, while it’s a good
coincidence for journalists, those sort of things do happen to
defenders from time to time – it’s part of the job.
You’ve got to try and cut the cross
out, and if you do it 1,000 times, on one occasion it might spin
off you at an unfortunate angle.
The worst thing about the day was the
disappointment for our fans, who were terrific before the game and
in the first half. They didn’t deserve that.
We all know we have to make amends
against Gillingham on Saturday, and we will be desperate to put
things right.
Thursday, March 18 2010
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