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September 1, 2024

Ricardo Santos of Bolton Wanderers: ‘We Didn’t Perform Well Enough’ – Brazilian Serie A

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Ricardo Santos took full responsibility after Saturday’s disappointing 2-0 defeat to Exeter City. The Bolton Wanderers captain did not shy away from the team’s shortcomings, admitting that their performance was far below expectations. In a candid reflection, Santos recognized the need for improvement, emphasizing that the squad must hold themselves accountable for the loss. His admission highlighted his leadership and the team’s collective responsibility as they looked to move forward and address the issues that led to such a frustrating result, “We just were not were not good enough!”

The Bolton Wanderers captain refused to use the team’s ongoing injury and fitness issues as an excuse for their current position in the league, where they sit 18th after four matches. Despite several key players being sidelined and others still working their way back to full fitness, he insisted that these setbacks were not the reason for the club’s underwhelming start to the season. 

Scott Arfield, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury, and Eoin Toal, who is dealing with a glute issue, are the latest additions to Bolton Wanderers’ growing list of injured players. Their absence further compounds the difficulties a squad has struggled to hit peak form throughout the summer. The team has been hampered by various fitness concerns, with several key players battling to regain total health. T

Manager Ian Evatt has stressed the importance of considering the broader “context” when assessing Bolton Wanderers’ slow start to the season. He pointed out that a combination of injuries and fitness struggles has made it difficult for the team to perform at their best early on. Evatt explained that several players are still working their way back to full fitness after a challenging preseason, and as a result, it may take some time before the squad is entirely up to speed. 

Santos firmly believed that the team needed to take responsibility for their underperformance in the match against Exeter City. He felt the players needed to acknowledge their shortcomings rather than deflect blame elsewhere. This self-reflection, he argued, was essential for growth and improvement as a unit. 

He said: “I think some people might look tired but it still wasn’t good enough.”

“Personally, if we are at our best, I think we have too much for Exeter. But we didn’t show it and lost the game. I don’t want to make excuses about fitness. To a man, we were not good enough.”

“It was too flat. I felt like we were in control, Nathan (Baxter) hasn’t had a shot to save but we have lost a game 2-0, which baffles me. We are at home, we shouldn’t be losing games like that.”

“It wasn’t down to how Exeter played, it was all us. We need to learn sometimes when games are not going our way how to grind out a result. We kicked on a bit too late after the goal, still had some decent chances, but it was too late, they got numbers back.”

“It is disappointing, but this international break comes at the right time, we can reset, look over what we need to improve.”

Wanderers managed to get just three of their 19 shots on target, with the best opportunity coming from Aaron Collins at 2-0 when his effort struck the crossbar.

Although Bolton had a solid 40 minutes to stage a comeback after going two goals down, Santos admitted the team lacked the necessary composure.

He said: “We had some decent chances – Collo (Collins) had a good one, I think it was about the 50th minute. You can’t score every one of them and maybe had that gone in, we get back in the game. But it didn’t go in, we tried, but it wouldn’t go in.

“We tried to raise the tempo and get bodies forward but at that point they are the away side, they get people behind the ball, and they make it difficult.”

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