Pardew: Mistakes Cost Us

Last updated : 10 August 2002 By Rob Cooper
Christie Celebrates Scoring Derby's Third Goal
Christie Celebrates Scoring Derby's Third Goal
Reading boss Alan Pardew admitted that he was disappointed with the mistakes his side made - whilst accepting that he made tactical mistakes leading to the Royals opening day defeat.

Whilst Derby are likely to be challenging for automatic promotion this season Pards believes that the Royals must put in a better performance against Sheffield Wednesday as it is important that the side don't go too long without a win.

Following the match Pards told BBC Radio Berkshire: "I'm disappointed because we made too many mistakes to get a result here at Derby. Everyone made errors, I'll hold my hands up and say I was to blame as well.

"Derby have got quality players but if you look at the statistics they made very few mistakes whereas we made quite a lot.

"I chose to revert to 4-4-2 because we weren't much of an attacking threat. When we conceded the goals straight after the change I didn't look too clever.

"The loss of Forster today was a blow - I thought that we missed him. But the fans were fantastic today, they got right behind us.

"Our home games are going to be important because you have to really excel away from home if you want to get a result. We've got a tough run of matches early on. However, it's important that we get a win soon."