Sheffield Wednesday: Carvalhal shoulders blame for Owls defeat at Leeds United

Head coach Carlos Carvalhal took full responsibility for the Owls' second Championship defeat in a row.
Carlos CarvalhalCarlos Carvalhal
Carlos Carvalhal

Chris Wood’s first-half strike earned Leeds United maximum points and the local bragging rights in front of a crowd of over 35,000 fans at Elland Road on Saturday.

Wednesday spurned a great chance to equalise from the penalty spot after the break when Souleymane Doukara was adjudged to have fouled Sam Hutchinson. Jordan Rhodes was denied from 12 yards, with Robert Green pulling off a fine save.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But Carvalhal has refused to blame his defence or striker Rhodes for their sixth away loss.

“Individual mistakes are part of the game,” he told The Star. “It is normal in football.

“Mistakes sometimes happen to us and sometimes happen to the opponents.

“I’m the person who assumes all the responsibility. The mistakes of my players are my mistakes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“A penalty is part of the game. When you miss a penalty, it has a psychological impact on teams but we still tried and we refreshed the team to put more energy in the middle and in attack to try and win the game. We didn’t create too many chances but Leeds didn’t either. We finished the game positively. We didn’t lose because we didn’t try.

“We win together and we lose together. The responsibility is not on any one player. It is all the time my responsibility.”

The Portuguese boss is backing his team to respond in a positive fashion when they entertain Norwich City this weekend.

Carvalhal said: “My players know everybody can fall down but the strong characters, players and teams react very fast.

“They don’t cry. They react very fast.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“When individuals make a mistake or the team have a defeat, I expect that they stay strong and show a strong reaction.

“It is what I expect all the time from my players because this is what I am like in my life. When I have something that is not going well in my life , maybe I go that day to the floor but, believe me, the next day, I’m ready to fight again.”