ONE more mention of the Respect campaign on Saturday and Gary Megson might well have blown a fuse.

The Wanderers boss has always been somewhat sceptical of the Football Association’s drive to rid football of unacceptable behaviour towards officials but more so now after another afternoon spent firmly biting his lip.

He may have talked in calm and measured tones about Rob Styles’ decision to disallow Gary Cahill’s headed goal just before half time against Liverpool but his language might have been a touch more colourful behind the closed doors of the dressing room.

Oh to be a fly in the wall in his office should Styles call again this morning to admit his error like he did back in September following his high-profile gaffe at Old Trafford.

Wanderers had worked in training on exploiting Liverpool’s ropey zonal marking from corners and it seemed as if their preparation had worked like a dream when Cahill climbed to head home seconds before the break.

But the official spotted a foul by Kevin Nolan on Reds keeper Pepe Reina in a crowded six-yard box – a view not shared by the majority of the Reebok Stadium’s biggest crowd of the season and certainly not by the Whites boss.

“There’s nothing wrong with the goal itself,” Megson explained. “If there was an infringement, then give a penalty because the keeper can’t just push Kevin Nolan in the back before the ball comes in.

“It was a really poor decision. I spoke to Rob Styles after the last game and heard what he had to say – whether I agree with it or not is neither here nor there – but then he has gone and made another howler. I’m not bothered about getting another phone call from him.

“Respect campaign or not, it doesn’t make any difference. The game has gone and that decision turned it.

“We would have been going in at 1-1 with our tails up, and that was after not really getting at them in the same way we did in the second half.”

But Megson did not hide behind the incident as the sole reason for the Whites’ 2-0 defeat, acknowledging the part his side eventually played in their own downfall.

“There were a lot of positives to take but they were outweighed by the fact we missed a lot of gilt-edged chances and gave away the second goal, which was a car crash from our point of view.

“At 2-0 against a side like Liverpool, you have got huge problems trying to get back into the game.”

Megson employed Fabrice Muamba to man-mark Steven Gerrard from the start and dropped Ricardo Gardner to the bench from the side that beat Hull.

He brought the Jamaican winger on at half time to great effect but lost some of the defensive stability that had been evident in the opening 45 minutes.

“In the first half we tried to take what I consider to be the heartbeat of Liverpool away by man-marking Steven Gerrard,” Megson said. “He didn’t get involved for the first 35 minutes at all.

“The minus side was that we didn’t take the game to Liverpool until we changed the shape and personnel in the second half. We took away the man-marker and he popped up to score the second goal.

“We really put Liverpool on the back foot but then managed to chuck it away.”