Athletic manager Paul Dickov has asked his young Athletic side to show their character by bouncing back from the 6-0 loss against Southampton with a positive response at Plymouth Argyle later today. Acknowledging that it was “men against boys' on the night” Dickov said, “We have another game on Saturday and it is a big one for us. We stand up, dust ourselves down and go again."
“We didn’t start the game well, which is what we look for. They came out of the blocks quicker than we did, looked sharper than us and got the early goal. It was men against boys after that. But in that situation you have to learn, and grow quickly. It has to be a learning curve for us. To be beaten at any time is disappointing and the manner in which it happened I am not too happy with. We were second to everything all night. They are a very, very good team. They are strong and looked fitter than us. We are a young team who have done OK so far. You get setbacks and it is about how you react. Everybody is disappointed, but it has gone and we can’t change what has happened. We can only change what happens in the future. There is plenty of soul-searching to do, but we believe in what we are doing here and won’t shirk away from it.”