Manager bemoans defensive shortcomings and calls for greater composure as winless run deepens
Motherwell boss Alfred Johansson conceded his side were second best in their 2-0 defeat by “lethal” Celtic, admitting defensive mistakes and a lack of composure in the final third contributed to a fourth consecutive loss.
Camilo Duran opened the scoring in the ninth minute at Fir Park before Benjamin Nygren doubled Celtic’s advantage in the second half, leaving the Steelmen with only one victory in their last nine matches and further questions to answer ahead of their must-win meeting with bottom side Kilmarnock next weekend.
Johansson criticised his side’s defensive organisation and highlighted a lack of aggression in individual duels as two of their biggest downfalls.
He conceded: “We were the second-best team today, I think Celtic was the best. We conceded the first goal in a situation where we don’t look particularly good. We don’t look solid enough in that moment. We knew very well that their wingers like to cut inside and shoot from the edge of the box.
“In that moment we are not a compact team enough. We are not aggressive enough in the duels. It was disappointing to concede the first goal in that way. If you are still in the game at 1-0, you can do stuff in the second part of the second half, but when we conceded that goal, it becomes very tough. Celtic were lethal in transitions.”
Motherwell have ‘far from untapped all the potential’
Johansson acknowledged that such a poor sequence of results will inevitably brings pressure, although he argued their difficulties must be viewed in the context of a substantial squad rebuild, with 11 new players arriving in the summer and injuries limiting the availability of key personnel. Only four players from last season featured in the starting XI against Celtic.
“We are looking forward,” he said. “We feel that this is an interesting group where we have far from untapped all the potential that is in there. Difficult moments come, and it’s how you cope with them and how you react to them. Our focus needs to be on making sure that the next training is as good as ever before, making sure that the next game we try to improve the things that we are working on at the moment.”