Bowyer: We went through motions

CHARLTON Athletic manager Lee Bowyer felt he too many players dropped their standards as they went down 4-2 to Burton Albion.

“We were poor from start to finish with too many people just going through the motions,” said Bowyer (pictured).

“No matter what league or what country, you can’t give teams, no matter where they are in the division, a two-goal head start.

“The two goals we gave away were just individual errors. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“Was it complacency? Sloppiness? Maybe because we were unbeaten in eight (it was actually seven) we thought we could just turn up and win.

“It’s not that simple. Football isn’t like that. I just reminded them in there. I’ve reminded a few of them that it isn’t acceptable and it will never be acceptable, not playing for me.”

Bowyer likened the game to a 5-3 defeat his side suffered away to Scunthorpe United two years ago.

“We had one of these crazy nights before, at Scunny,” he said. “We just gave amazing goals away all the time. I said to Jacko (assistant boss Johnnie Jackson) when they got their third that it reminded me of that game.

“It was just unbelievable, like we’d never played football before.

“Conor Washington came on and he could have had a hat-trick. He was only on 20 minutes. The game should have been about 7-7. It was just not a normal game of football.

“I can’t put it down to anything. It’s just not like us at all. The worst thing is, it was the most senior players who were doing it, who’ve been in the game forever.

“They won’t make those mistakes again in the whole season.

“It’s disappointing because we had an opportunity. We were in a good place, unbeaten in eight and then we did that I didn’t see that coming at all.”