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If Wanderers are to avoid dropping back into League One they have to cut out opponents’ late goals.
That is the view of midfielder Karl Henry, who has seen far too many points for comfort dropped in the final 10 minutes of matches.
Since Henry came to the Macron in September the Whites have let in a 90th-minute leveller at Fulham, Reading’s 83rd-minute equaliser, an 89th-minute winner for Nottingham Forest and last Saturday’s 82nd-minute equaliser against Ipswich. Add QPR’s 78th-minute goal in a 1-1 draw, Sunderland snatching a 3-3 draw in the 79th minute and, although it had no bearing on the result, Brentford hitting the second of two goals in the 90th minute a fortnight ago and it is clear that tightening-up late on is needed.
“We need to score too late for them to do anything about it. We need to be better at seeing games out,” said Henry.
“We’ve been pegged back from winning positions a number of times since I have been here and it’s something we will need to work on.
“A person with nothing to lose is dangerous, and when you are behind in a game you can afford to do things differently, I suppose.”
Wanderers’ three wins from four games in a tricky Christmas period saw them move out of the relegation places. But, following the FA Cup exit at the hands of Huddersfield, Phil Parkinson’s side then collected just a point from the next two matches.
That point at least kept the Whites – who have an inferior goal difference to third-bottom Sunderland and Hull in 21st – out of the drop-zone.
And Henry says while the table makes for much easier reading for their supporters, Wanderers’ relatively lofty position has cranked up opponents’ expectations, and the pressure from within.
“When you are bottom of the league and everyone is coming and expecting to beat you, it’s actually not the worst position you can be in, believe it or not,” added the midfielder. “The pressure for us now starts to come as we climb out of it. We’re now going into games expected to get something more often than not. We’re expected to stay out of the drop zone and so we put pressure on ourselves.
“It is always more difficult when there is something to hold on to.
“It’s very tight down there and it can change quickly from week to week, so we have to focus on ourselves.”
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That is the view of midfielder Karl Henry, who has seen far too many points for comfort dropped in the final 10 minutes of matches.
Since Henry came to the Macron in September the Whites have let in a 90th-minute leveller at Fulham, Reading’s 83rd-minute equaliser, an 89th-minute winner for Nottingham Forest and last Saturday’s 82nd-minute equaliser against Ipswich. Add QPR’s 78th-minute goal in a 1-1 draw, Sunderland snatching a 3-3 draw in the 79th minute and, although it had no bearing on the result, Brentford hitting the second of two goals in the 90th minute a fortnight ago and it is clear that tightening-up late on is needed.
“We need to score too late for them to do anything about it. We need to be better at seeing games out,” said Henry.
“We’ve been pegged back from winning positions a number of times since I have been here and it’s something we will need to work on.
“A person with nothing to lose is dangerous, and when you are behind in a game you can afford to do things differently, I suppose.”
Wanderers’ three wins from four games in a tricky Christmas period saw them move out of the relegation places. But, following the FA Cup exit at the hands of Huddersfield, Phil Parkinson’s side then collected just a point from the next two matches.
That point at least kept the Whites – who have an inferior goal difference to third-bottom Sunderland and Hull in 21st – out of the drop-zone.
And Henry says while the table makes for much easier reading for their supporters, Wanderers’ relatively lofty position has cranked up opponents’ expectations, and the pressure from within.
“When you are bottom of the league and everyone is coming and expecting to beat you, it’s actually not the worst position you can be in, believe it or not,” added the midfielder. “The pressure for us now starts to come as we climb out of it. We’re now going into games expected to get something more often than not. We’re expected to stay out of the drop zone and so we put pressure on ourselves.
“It is always more difficult when there is something to hold on to.
“It’s very tight down there and it can change quickly from week to week, so we have to focus on ourselves.”
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