Lonergan warns Cardiff to beware Bolton backlash
ANDY LONERGAN readily admitted he would have walked out long before the end at Reading last week if he had been sitting behind the goal rather than standing in front of it. Bolton manager Dougie Freedman had plenty of harsh words after his side’s 7-1 hiding and goalkeeper Lonergan added a few more as he reflected on ‘the worst day of my career’ and revealed why Cardiff may have cause to fear a backlash when they visit the Reebok today. ‘Even when we were five or six down, the fans were getting behind us and actually singing my name,’ said Lonergan. ‘That was incredibIe. If I’d been there as a supporter, I’d have left at half-time. ‘It has been bugging me all week because I care, but it’s the life of a goalkeeper that you pull your gloves on again and get ready to save the next shot. ‘You’ve got to move on. The good thing is, the only other time something like this happened to me, I did exactly that. I played for Leeds in a 7-3 defeat against Nottingham Forest, and hard as it was to take, we went out in the next game against Millwall and not only won a tough away fixture 1-0 but I saved a penalty. Let’s hope that’s an omen because we all know we’ve got some making up to do against Cardiff. ‘I’ve been through the goals again, and there wasn’t one I could have done much about. There were deflections, a penalty, one-on-ones, you name it, and they all flew in. I was longing for something to hit me rather than the back of the net but nothing did. You can imagine what the dressing room was like. We had a meeting on Sunday, and it is sometimes good to get things off your chest. ‘It is still on our minds, but it’s the reaction that counts. And we’ve got to make sure it’s a positive one.’