Kevin Keegan has vowed to strengthen his squad when the transfer window re-opens following last night's disappointing 3-2 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur at Maine Road. City took a 1-0 lead but were trailing 3-1 before a late goal gave them some hope of stealing a point. However, Spurs battled hard to hold on to their advantage and an unhappy Keegan said afterwards that his side were just "not clever enough".
"The first half-hour was dream stuff but after that we weren't clever enough," said the City boss. "There is no substitute for experience and that was the major difference tonight. We still have four or five players who lack Premiership experience and sometimes it shows. This was a chance to put ourselves in with the big boys but we weren't streetwise enough to take advantage. We got caught out and you have to accept it but that is why we need to strengthen."
Meanwhile, Tottenham's Christian Ziege has apologised to manager Glenn Hoddle and the club's supporters for getting himself sent off in last night's encounter. The German international received his marching orders for twice kicking the ball away late in the game and although Hoddle admitted that referee Jeff Winter should have showed some common sense, he also admitted that Ziege needed to take responsibility for his actions.
"Sometimes players have to take responsibility and Christian has apologised for what he did. If he hadn't done it we would have saved us from what we went through in those final few minutes. But sometimes I also think the referee has to use common sense. On the second occasion, the ball only went about three yards, so it's hardly time-wasting," explained Hoddle.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
