Manager Says-Burnley 0-1 Portsmouth

The Clarets lost 0-1 at home to Portsmouth last night in the Carling Cup but they held their own and can be proud of their performance,

Gaffer Steve Cotterill had this to say about the match and the effort from the lads:

'It was a great performance. We played well and there's just a tinge of disappointment that we haven't got something out of the game.

'But other than that, no problems whatsoever because I thought the lads were great.

'We passed the ball very well, especially in the first half. In the second it is always a compliment when they put their big guns on and all credit to Portsmouth.

'They have been away for a few days and changed their team around and they have some excellent players. It's okay because Harry and I will stay mates now!'

The Clarets manager also had a few things to say about Nugent's controversial goal:

'David (Nugent) apparently told Stephen Jordan it was hand ball, but the closest person was the linesman.

'I don't know but it is not something we are going to be bleating about. It's been and gone.'

Burnley played a 4-1-4-1 system last night and the gaffer explained how well he thought it went especially with David Unsworth playing an unfamilar role in midfield.

'I thought the system went well. The players in front of David in that system are key and I thought they were very good in creating the space for David.

'I don't know whether David has played that one before, but there's a great chance he might have done in his career.

'I just felt I needed to freshen it up tonight. We have played Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday and we have that again, so when it's rolling like that it makes life very difficult.

There were also some comments in relation to the change around with the strikers

'Andy Gray couldn't play with his infection and it would have been flogging the kid, said Steve

'Robbie Blake has been up all night because his missus has given birth, so there was no better time to get some more fitness into Kyle.

'I thought Ade was good and you can see he is a lot sharper than last season. The boys who came in did very well and the whole team can be proud of themselves.'

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