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Published: Monday 17 Nov 2008
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Stoke defender acknowledges below-par Old Trafford display

by Michael Baggaley
michael.baggaley@thesentinel.co.uk

HONEST Stoke captain Andy Griffin offered no excuses for an ‘embarrassing’ 5-0 defeat against Manchester United which he said had wounded the pride of the City players.

The defender could have run through United’s star-studded line-up as reason enough for Stoke’s hammering, but says City’s own performance wasn’t good enough.

Stoke were always underdogs to beat United, in fact 22/1 with the betting company owned by City chairman Peter Coates.

But while the defeat was no surprise, Griffin says the players are hurt they didn’t play as well as they can.

He said: “I’m disappointed and a little bit embarrassed because I know we can give a better account of ourselves.

“We need to play with a little bit more pride. It just wasn’t good enough.

“When you come to Old Trafford you need to be on top of your game, and they need to have a little bit of an off day, to get any kind of result. That is just how it is.

“But I didn’t think they were awesome today. I think it was perhaps a case of us being quite poor.”

Stoke’s daunting task became a mountainous one once Cristiano Ronaldo fired United ahead with a swerving free-kick in the third minute.

Stoke actually looked relatively comfortable for the rest of the half, but once Ronaldo set up Michael Carrick for the second in first-half injury time, Stoke’s slim hopes were ended.

Griffin added: “When you have a player like Ronaldo, you get a free-kick and he can produce a goal out of nothing.

“He is one of the world’s best players, but we are still disappointed about the manner we went about this game.

“The first goal was a massive blow. He is a player who is capable of that and that is why he’s on mega bucks playing at Manchester United, and why Real Madrid wanted him.

“He’s worth every penny he gets in my opinion. But he’s still human.

“I don’t think we were intimidated by anyone today, but we are just disappointed in the way we went about our business.

“It was just too easy for them. We are a hard-working, organised team. But here, I don’t think we worked as hard as we could have done and we perhaps gave them a little bit too much respect and time on the ball. You can’t do that.

“Also, when you get the ball, you can’t be giving it away so cheaply. If you do, against quality players like that, you will get punished.”

Right-back Griffin had a tougher assignment than most as Ronaldo spent much of his time on the United left, aided by full-back Patrice Evra, who played more like a left-winger.

The former Newcastle United defender said: “Yes it was tough, but you work hard to get out of the Championship so you can come to grounds like this or Anfield.

“It doesn’t come around all the time, so you have to come here, try to give it your best and try to get something.

“I have been lucky enough to get a couple of draws at Old Trafford and it is a great feeling. But I played here last season with Derby and got beaten 4-1, so it’s not been very nice on the last couple of occasions.

“But you can’t feel sorry for yourself, it is done now. We have to dust ourselves off now and prepare for the West Brom game.”

The captain also paid tribute to the 3,000 travelling fans who offered unswerving support, even as the United goals were flying in.

He said: “It has been a long time since the Stoke fans came to Old Trafford. Their team has been beaten 5-0, but they sang their hearts out and got behind us. As players, we couldn’t ask for more and we thank them for their support.

“We couldn’t get a result, but hopefully we will put that right against West Brom.”

Despite his criticism of this performance, Griffin is confident the heaviest defeat of the season won’t scar the players as they take on the crucial back-to-back home games against West Brom and Hull.

They offer a far more realistic chance of picking up crucial survival points, even though Ricardo Fuller misses Saturday’s West Brom game, having picked up a fifth booking at Old Trafford.

Griffin added: “I think we have the mentality to put this behind us. I’m not going to go on about us playing the great Manchester United and saying they were this and that. We should have done better here and I have no qualms about saying that.

“But next week we are at home, it is a really big game for us and we will be focused on that.”

Stoke can also take their mind off this defeat by looking forward to their Carling Cup quarter-final tie at home to Griffin’s old club, Derby.

The Saturday lunchtime draw gave Stoke their wish of a home game and a realistic chance of moving within one tie of a Wembley final.

Griffin welcomed the draw and said the Carling Cup run would not be at the expense of Stoke’s Premier League performances.

He added: “We wanted to stay clear of the big guns and it is also a plus-point being at home.

“Derby might also be saying they have got us instead of one of the big guns, but they know they will be in for a very tough game.

“We are at the Britannia, it is a bit of a fortress for us, so hopefully that can continue.”