FODA COMES OUT FIGHTING AFTER 5-STAR THUMPING
UNDER-FIRE Austria boss Franco Foda has hit back at his critics over flak taken following his men being thumped by Israel.
Pressure has been piled on Foda ahead of a crunch clash with Steve Clarke’s Scotland tomorrow after the 5-2 hammering in Haifa on Saturday night.
Austria are No.2 seeds in Group F but now find themselves in a three-way fight for second spot, with Denmark five points clear at the summit.
Foda knows his country’s World Cup hopes and his own job are on the line in Vienna but he came out fighting amid mounting criticism of his tactics from local pundits.
The manager said: “I can’t understand what Roman Mahlich said, he was once a coach himself.
“The harmony was there in the first half and the opportunities were there too. There are always reasons for a defeat but it wasn’t the system.
“There are several factors – short preparation, some players who weren’t there – but we don’t want to make excuses.
“The difference was simply the efficiency in front of the goal.
“Everyone saw the game, how many opportunities we had in the first half and how we played forward with the emphasis on attack.
“Defensively, the first goal had nothing to do with the system. Look at the way Manor Solomon shoots into the corner. The third and
ISRAEL ............ AUSTRIA ........
fourth were individual mistakes. We were punished and missed chances but we now try to beat Scotland.”
Foda refused to make excuses for shipping five goals against the Israelis as the 55-year-old vowed to carry the can.
He said: “We can now discuss everything, about the system, individual mistakes, chains of mistakes in the defence,
“But in the end we should have scored two or three goals when we were 1-0 down.
“Of course, if you lose five goals in a game then something is wrong on the defensive side. We’ll talk about that in private.
“There is no point in blaming or talking about quality. Ultimately I am the coach. I called up these players. I am responsible for this team. We discuss everything else internally.”
Austria keeper Daniel Bachmann admitted he was stung by the five-goal rout as he acknowledged his side need to bounce back against Clarke’s men.
The former Kilmarnock loan star, now at Watford, said: “The Israelis did a great job with their finishing but you can’t lose five goals.
“It just wasn’t good enough from us, not even close. We have to make sure that we fix it again on Tuesday.
“Denmark are now out of reach. The goal is still to take second place and go to the World Cup.”