Bruce – We Got What We Deserved

I’ve typed that headline before and it was a case of deja vu for manager Steve Bruce in the game this weekend against Charlton Athletic.

Vital Report – Charlton 2-1 Hull
Video – Charlton Highlights
Audio – Bruce Talks Charlton Defeat

Speaking to the Official Site after the late two one loss at The Valley, Bruce was left saying again that we need to be a lot better than we were if we are to take things from games this season as by our standards that performance was very below par.

‘The first half was arguably the worst game of football I`ve seen in a long, long time. It took their first goal to wake us up a little bit and after that we had two or three chances late on. At that stage, I thought if anybody was going to win the game it would be us but we have to be better than we were for that first hour or so. Mistakes have cost us again and we should be defending better than we did.’

Bruce went on to say that ‘overall’ it was ‘awful’ and the only excuse he can offer is the temperatures on the day but he’s not looking for excuses and he knows that one doesn’t really wash either as although in that heat you don’t expect endless running and quick countering, it still should have been a lot better than it was in both halves.

‘We didn`t deserve anything from the game and we are much better than we showed.’

There were a few positives from the game though that he could take, and young on loan Arsenal midfielder Isaac Hayden’s appearance from the bench was one of them with him hitting the post and provide the assist for what should have been the goal that led to a point.

‘He was terrific when he came on. I`ve had to be a little careful with him because he didn`t get a full 90 minutes during pre-season, but he gave us that injection of life and pace and he kept the ball well. He nearly pulled us through single-handed. He and Abel Hernandez were the plus points from the game.’