DEFIANT Dougie Freedman refused to give up hope on the play-offs despite Saturday’s damaging defeat at Charlton.
Though referee Trevor Kettle proved the focus of Wanderers’ ire after the final whistle, with red cards for Sam Ricketts and Craig Davies meaning they will sit out tomorrow’s home clash with Huddersfield Town, the Whites boss insists there is still plenty to play for with seven games to go.
“We’re not done yet,” he said. “I’m still confident because we haven’t lost ground. If we can win games and put pressure on those teams above us we can get back in there.”
Wanderers are six points off the pace and Freedman knows that despite the game-changing decisions that went against them at The Valley, there were elements of the performance that will have to improve drastically if the top six is to be a viable option.
After Marvin Sordell and Medo had given them such a commanding early lead, the way in which the Whites allowed Charlton back into the game before the break was a concern.
And Freedman admits that, despite having a man disadvantage for much of the second half, there were issues in his side’s defending that also need to be addressed.
“I thought the first-half performance was good and if I’ve got any criticism, it was that we should have been more goals up because of the way we played,” he said. “We were good on the front foot.
“We worked very hard on our defensive displays just recently and our attacking display in the first half was good and you think to yourself ‘we’ve nailed it’ and then the second half shows us we’ve got a little bit of work to do.
“I don’t like making excuses so when these situations came about we had to concentrate and we didn’t do that. We didn’t behave in quite the right way.”
That Kettle’s decision to send off Ricketts had such a huge impact on the game was due in some part to Wanderers’ inability to kill off their opponents in the first half, Freedman admitted.
“Charlton came at us in the second half and we weathered the storm but I’m disappointed because we knew this referee was a sending off, or a booking type,” he said.
“I’m disappointed in myself and the players for giving him the opportunity to make decisions because when he’s put in the position to make those decisions, he’s inconsistent.
“The performance was good. I can’t control what the referee does.
“We needed to keep calm at 2-0 up, but I think we took the foot off the pedal a little bit. We didn't have that balance between attack and defence that we showed in the first half.”
Suspension for Ricketts is most likely to mean a full debut for new loanee Danny Butterfield, who arrived on Thursday from Southampton.
Tyrone Mears is out for the foreseeable future and is believed to be suffering from glandular fever, meaning the 33-year-old could come in for his first league start since April 2012, when he turned out for the Saints in a 4-0 win over Coventry in the Championship.
“The squad is imbalanced in full-back positions and it needed to be addressed,” Freedman said.
“Danny is a great guy. A good solid defender.
“He knew the situation he was coming into, as a bit of cover, but now he’s got to do what he has for the most of his career and step up to the plate.”
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