Philippe Clement wants no repeat of the self-doubt that crept in during Norwich City’s heartbreaking 4-3 Championship defeat to Middlesbrough.
Ashley Phillips’ stoppage time strike finally ended a stirring comeback from the Canaries, after early carnage at the Riverside.
Mo Toure scored in the first minute, before City shipped twice before the eighth minute. But Jovon Makama and Jacob Wright replied in a stirring second half riposte, prior to a bitter late twist.
Clement, however, was irked by the negative reaction of some of his players after wilting in the face of a Boro first half blitz.
“For me, the biggest disappointment is not the goals we conceded, but the 30 minutes after that,” he said. “I saw two, three, maybe four players starting to doubt, not aggressive enough, not brave enough on the ball, or available enough on the ball, and we didn’t show the football that we can play, and that we should play.
“We got in their heads after two minutes, and they went into our heads after conceding the goals, and that was where we lost the game for me.
“At half-time we still had another 45 minutes, and I was really clear to the players I wanted to see another face of the team; everybody with their chest out and head high and going full, showing our qualities and believing in ourselves and in each other, which the team did brilliantly.
“In the end my biggest memory of this game will be how good we can be if everybody just go goes full.”
City went toe-to-toe in the second half with a side Clement has tipped as title contenders.
“To play like we did on their ground, coming back from 3-1 behind to get to 3-3, it felt like a game between two boxers,” he said. “I felt that Middlesbrough in the last 10 minutes was on the ropes, and we were pushing for this knock out, but then in the 91st minute you get the punch to go down and lose.
“That’s my feeling.
“I’m really proud what my team showed in the second half, because if we are doing that every three days for the next 10 months then we’re going have a really good team.
“Middlesbrough is an opponent that I respect a lot. Who invested also a lot of money. I think around £40m in the transfer window to make promotion, and they should have had promotion already in the last play-offs where they were the best team in the final.”