HARTLEPOOL boss Mick Wadsworth refused to single out any of his players for Saturday’s horror show against Charlton and took full responsibility for his misfiring side’s latest flop.
A dismal display allowed Chris Powell’s high-flying side to pick their hosts off at will as two goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips and strikes from Danny Hollands and Scott Wagstaff gave them an easy victory.
What did for Pools was poor defending but when pressed to single out who had let him down, Wadsworth admirably insisted that he carry the can and not criticise any individual.
He said: “I can’t say that. You guys (the media) could but I can’t and I would never say that. That’s because I lead the players and I lead training.
“I don’t pull any punches. But the fact is we’ve got too many players playing below par. So in a sense I’m saying what you’re saying anyway (without naming the players).
“It’s a bit of a mystery as to what’s gone on. We’ve moved from something that has been pretty damn special to something that looks pretty damn bloody awful. My assessment of it I think is right. It starts with defending and this week, going into the Orient game, we may have to do a different approach to what we normally do because we have to drag ourselves back into the league and get back up the table.
“We have to fight our way out of this and we might have to do it by a one-nil in the last minute.”
Charlton raced into the lead in 10 minutes when Rhoys Wiggins hared down the left and pulled the ball back to an unmarked Wright-Phillips whose half-volley went past the flat-footed Scott Flinders. Number two came seven minutes from half-time with the same two players combining for Wright-Phillips to score again.
Any hope of a second-half comeback from Hartlepool ended when Hollands was left unmarked to head in Johnnie Jackson’s free-kick while number four came with six minutes left when an incisive move cut Hartlepool open, leaving Wagstaff to fire in from close-range.
Despite the defeat, Wadsworth insisted he will do all he can to keep the club’s play-off dreams alive. He added: “The one thing I will do is apologise to the fans – they were fantastic.
“It’s always the leader whose head is likely to roll. I don’t think that’s the case here. We’ve done too much to jolt a knee-jerk reaction but we’ve got to get ourselves out of this. If we go under, we’ll start imploding and that’s no good to anybody.
“But I promise the fans that we will get ourselves out of this and back up the league.”
HARTLEPOOL: Flinders; Austin, Collins, Hartley, Horwood; Poole, Murray, Liddle (Luscombe 55), Monkhouse; Nish, Boyd (Brown 55). Subs (not used): Rafferty, Humphreys, Wright.
Booked: Collins, Hartley;
CHARLTON: Hamer; Solly, Morrison, Taylor, Wiggins; Green (Wagstaff, 70), Hughes, Hollands (Euell, 86), Jackson (capt); Wright-Phillips, Kermorgant (Paul Hayes, 81). Subs (not used): Sullivan, Cort.
Goals: Wright-Phillips (10 & 38), Hollands (55), Wagstaff (84)
Booked: Green, Wagstaff
Attendance: 5,333 Referee: Dean Mohareb (Lancashire)
