Not Good Enough, Says Dewsbury-Hall
- Leicester City were beaten 3-0 by Newcastle United on Boxing Day
- The visitors scored three in the first half at King Power Stadium
- Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall gave his verdict to LCFC TV after full-time
- The Foxes are now sitting 13th in the Premier League table
The Foxes were well beaten at King Power Stadium on Boxing Day, falling to a 3-0 defeat courtesy of three first-half goals from Chris Wood, Miguel Almirón and Joelinton, a deficit that Brendan Rodgers’ side were unable to recover from.
A disappointing day at the office in front of the Blue Army, the Academy graduate accepted that City were well below par in their first Premier League fixture since the division resumed after the FIFA World Cup.
“It wasn’t good enough,” Dewsbury-Hall admitted to LCFC TV after full-time on Filbert Way. “From the start of the game to the finish, we didn't show the Leicester that we know we're capable of.
“So, firstly I want to apologise to the fans because they didn't deserve that performance. We were second best in every aspect of the game. Newcastle looked like they wanted it more and that can't happen.
“The fundamentals of the game are determination, passion, aggression and just fighting for the balls. We didn't do that today. And look, you get punished in the Premier League because it's relentless, so it’s thoroughly disappointing day and we've not shown ourselves in a good light.”
City had enjoyed an impressive run of form across all competitions before the break and a 3-0 Carabao Cup victory at MK Dons in midweek looked to continue that momentum. Now sat 13th in the table, the Englishman knows the team must, individually and as a collective, be better in the games to come.
The 24-year-old continued: “It's about now going back and rectifying everything we did wrong. We had great momentum going into the break and I feel like we did a lot of good work during the break.
“So, look, it's one of them days where we've just not turned up. We've been second best for everything and now we need to make sure that doesn't happen again because I didn't enjoy that game.
“I know all the fans didn't enjoy the game and it's just a bad day at the office. I don't want to feel that again. I want to go back and I want to make sure that we're fighting because I'm passionate and I know the lads are passionate and I'm not happy with the performance, it's poor.
“We know that. The manager obviously wasn't happy and rightly so because we've worked on a lot of things and we didn't show it today and that's the most disappointing thing. We have pride in ourselves but we didn't do the basics right today and we just didn't perform the way we can.”
A fairly quick turnaround sees Leicester back in action later this week, away to Liverpool at Anfield, and the central midfielder is determined to put right those wrongs, firstly on the training ground and then out on the pitch on Friday evening.
Dewsbury-Hall: We Were Second Best
Midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall reacts to Leicester City's 3-0 defeat by Newcastle United at King Power Stadium.
He added: “We should go home and should look at ourselves in the mirror and go: 'Look, I wasn't good enough today'. Everyone wasn't good enough.
“And now, luckily, we've got a chance in a couple of days to put that right because we need to analyse that and we need to go into the next game, because if that happens again, we'll get punished again.
“You have to look at what you did wrong and you have to own up to what you weren't good at and then put it behind you and go into the next game making sure that you put it right, because, as I said, going to Anfield, if you do that, then you're going to get punished.
“But then I know if we're at our best, we can beat anyone. So, it's about learning from your mistakes, putting it right, having a bit more passion, a bit more aggression, and then try and win a football game.”