Wanderers' total lack of cutting edge up front proved the biggest frustration for Sam Allardyce.

City's defence has not had an easier day all season and the Reebok boss was disgusted with his side's attacking play.

In particular Allardyce pointed out he expected more from his higher profile players.

To be fair Wanderers were without half a side who would normally walk into the starting XI and the Wanderers' manager admitted the crippling injury list had finally caught up with his side.

"It was not good enough in the second half," said Big Sam.

"In the Premiership you need your big players to be playing well, and that wasn't the case, certainly in the second half when we laid down far too easily.

"Our big players didn't play. We need them to be in full flow to get anything out of any game in the Premiership.

"The lads who have come in for the injured players have done the job until now but they could not maintain it in this game so we need to get those injured players back into the team to help us turn the corner.

"I was without five or six players who would definitely walk into my first team and our injury list cost us too much against City - it was a bridge too far.

"We were confident going into the game against a team whose own confidence was down.

"We didn't have a shot in the first half despite some good approach play. I told the players at half time it was all right putting nine or ten passes together as long as it gets us somewhere or gets us something.

"The second half was disappointing. We consistently gave the ball back to them and even when we had an open goal we still couldn't score."

He was talking about Wanderers' one chance of the game which was handed to his side by successive mistakes by City's Richard Dunne and then Kevin Horlock which gave Jermaine Johnson then Jay Jay Okocha spurned chances to beat Peter Schmeichel in the City goal.

Apart from that Wanderers' only effort on goal of any kind was a speculative 45-yard attempt by Youri Djorkaeff to lob Schmeichel which fell harmlessly at the City keeper's feet.

"We thought we had turned the corner up front when Henrik Pedersen came in but obviously we haven't.

"We have not had a game where we have had so few chances."