Doncaster loss could have been avoided – Dean

STRAIGHT TALK . . . Athletic skipper Dean Furman admitted his side were architects of their own downfall.

NOT good enough, personally or collectively. That was the stark assessment from Athletic captain Dean Furman of the overall display which led to a midweek defeat at Doncaster.

From being in a decent position at half-time, Athletic allowed Rovers to nick three points thanks to a quickly-taken free-kick by David Cotterill.

Manager Paul Dickov emphasised he didn't feel referee Gary Sutton should have allowed the goal to stand while goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis was busy arranging his defensive wall.

But Furman said Athletic should have stemmed the danger themselves — a view clearly and audibly shared by other players during a post-match debate.

"We came out in the second half in a good position, but too many of us, including myself, got a bit sloppy and invited pressure unnecessarily.

"They caught us cold — and that summed up the whole of the second half. They were that bit brighter and more switched-on than we were.

"From being comfortable in the first half and coming out thinking we could go and win the game, we invited pressure rather than them dominating. That was the major disappointment.”

Furman and company have an immediate chance to put things right when the teams do battle again on Saturday.

Athletic's skipper is fully clued-up as to how important reaching the third round of the FA Cup is considered to be by the club's hierarchy.

"It is a big game for the players and a massive game for the club. We will work on a few things in training and make sure the mistakes we made don't happen again."