Trying to explain his sides’ latest thrashing to Manchester City he said, “Many teams have come here, like us, and suffered a painful time, including those who are better than we are.
“It’s hard to take and difficult to accept but the facts are that Manchester City are the best team in the league at home and have been the best team in the league since the start of the season.
“In the end, I think that we’ve all seen why, live against us. We all knew they were very, very good and we’ve seen it live tonight because our players tried as hard as they could, but couldn’t get near these Manchester City players. Their quality is top-drawer and they are great finishers, never mind top footballers.”
“They can’t feel sorry for themselves. We are professionals and we’ve got to take the criticism thrown at us because that’s what happens in the game at this level. We’ve got to be man enough to take it on the chin and be determined enough to show people what they think at this particular moment in time is wrong.
“You either come out fighting or you sink and die - I come out fighting as a manager and my staff and players are the same. We’ve got to get out there, face the music and use it to anger us, if you like, make us mad, prove them wrong and win football matches.”