Anyone got an alarm clock?

Having watched the highlights of the match on Sky I’m feeling slightly more upbeat about life. It certainly looks as if we played well. Bouazza was full of running, our defence – with the newly installed Aaron Hughes - looked solid, and Dempsey had a hatful of chances. It augurs well for the rest of the season.

However, we still have an Achilles heel: the final 10 minutes. So far this season we have paid the price for conceding very late in the day against Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Aston Villa and now Wigan. Yesterday’s match really was there for the taking. The question for Sanchez is how to ensure everyone stays alert until the final whistle.

Maybe we can all bring our alarm clocks with us to matches and set them to go off at 4.35pm. Maybe we should push for a Time Out system to be brought in like in American Football which would give us a chance to regroup in the final stages. I don’t know what the answer is but we MUST stop making such sloppy mistakes.

To be honest, as much as I have been impressed with Bouazza’s commitment, he just doesn’t seem capable of lasting the whole 90 minutes. He has flagged badly in the latter stages a few times already this season – and yesterday was a prime example. His dreadfully timed tackle on Mario Melchiot, which resulted in the penalty, was a desperate lunge from a totally exhausted player.

On balance, however, there were more positives than negatives. If we can stay awake for 90 minutes, rather than 79, then we’ll be a very tough team to beat.