Leam reflects on late defeat at London Road.

Leam Richardson | “I’m devastated for the lads given the effort and hard work that they put in.”
Leam reflects on Latics’ 2-1 defeat at Peterborough United
Richardson: “The lads do deserve to be on the right end of the result today but they weren’t and despite disappointment initially that won’t last for long. I’ll make sure it doesn’t filter into the dressing room before they leave on the coach on the way home and we’ll all be ready and focused for Tuesday.”

Leam Richardson felt his side were hard done by as two late Jonson Clarke-Harris goals sealed a 2-1 win for Sky Bet League One leaders Peterborough United at London Road on Saturday afternoon.

Reflecting post-match with Latics TV, Richardson said:

“We’re disappointed and I’m devastated for the lads for the effort and hard work that they put in.

“They stuck to every job spec. on the pitch - both in and out of possession - and I have to be careful with what I say but I feel other influences have decided the result.

“I thought we were excellent on the pitch, including the lads that came on as well and continued the hard work. It’s one of those where decisions are made and I ask ‘could we have had similar decisions to them?’ Absolutely.

“I have to compliment the lads with the hard work after two or three performances at that level, including the one they turned out today, which possibly should have had a different result.

“We demand high intensity; we’ve had a new group from after January and the levels are there to be seen and need to be hit, as we need results. When you reflect there is a handful of those lads who haven’t had a pre-season and not played a great deal of football over the past 12 months. You can see that after 70/80 minutes but it’s up to us to keep the freshness, fitness and the sharpness going into these games.

“The post-match team talk – I don’t mind being open and honest – it was very simple for me. If you do churn out performances and effort levels like today then you’ll get the results that you need. I don’t want any heads down after today and nobody needs to feel sorry for themselves because if you give a good account of yourself then you have another game in two or three days. Get your shoulders and your chest out and let’s go fighting again on Tuesday.

“The lads do deserve to be on the right end of the result today but they weren’t and despite disappointment initially that won’t last for long. I’ll make sure it doesn’t filter into the dressing room before they leave on the coach on the way home and we’ll all be ready and focused for Tuesday.”

Leam Richardson | “I’m devastated for the lads given the effort and hard work that they put in.”