Toon Star Explains Shearer's System!

Steve Harper: “Coming in 2-0 down is disappointing. It left us with a mountain to climb, and it was important not to cave in.

“In the second half we did better. We restricted them, and it was just a poor goal.

“That’s something we’ve got to address before a massive game next Monday against Middlesbrough.

 “We came here trying to get something.

“We know what a formidable side they are – they’ve scored four against virtually everybody recently – but we were looking to come away with something.

“We had a system we thought would frustrate them, and catch them on the break. It’s disappointing.

“We held them out for a while, and the first goal was offside.

“He was in front of everybody. I’ve seen it – three quarters of his body is in an offside position – and as far as I’m concerned that’s offside.

“It’s a killer. Stevie Gerrard had a fantastic delivery for the second goal and Kuyt’s got in there, and we were 2-0 down, and up against it.

“Set pieces were where we thought we could hurt them, and unfortunately they’ve hurt us.”