A furious Walter Zenga accused Wolverhampton Wanderers of “giving up” in their 4-0 thrashing by Barnsley and ordered his players to come in on their day off.
Wolves’ players were scheduled to have Wednesday off, yet Zenga called them into training that morning as they slumped to a third match without a win the night before, leaving his newly-rich troops in the lower reaches of the EFL Championship.
A furious Walter Zenga accused Wolverhampton Wanderers of “giving up” in their 4-0 thrashing by Barnsley and ordered his players to come in on their day off.
Wolves’ players were scheduled to have Wednesday off, yet Zenga called them into training that morning as they slumped to a third match without a win the night before, leaving his newly-rich troops in the lower reaches of the EFL Championship.
“We concede a goal [Barnsley’s opener] and something happened I never want to see again in my life – the players gave up,” the former Italy goalkeeper-turned-Coach told Express & Star.
“It’s not acceptable. They made gifts in the last 15 minutes. It’s a shame not only for me but also for the fans, for the club, for everybody.
“It’s a shock. This is not a result Wolves must receive, especially at home. Especially without fight, or trying to do something to change the game.
“I’m shocked for this reason [no fight], I’m shocked for the result, for how we played…everything. And this is a big lesson also for me.
“We have more than 10 new players. They arrive at the end of the window. What I have to do to try to find the starting XI, I have to change.
“I know it’s a risk. But to try to have a starting XI we have to try, to probe. You can’t just work in training.
“If you receive a goal in the 73rd minute you have time to draw, stay in the game.
“This is the question – why did we receive three goals in the final minutes. There is no reason. This is not acceptable.
“This evening it’s very hard to analyse the game. Even when the team doesn’t play in the right way we were still 0-0.
“I need to think about, to analyse why it happened. This must be a big lesson for us. We have to come back.
“We must keep our feet on the floor and tomorrow morning we analyse, rewatch the game.
“The fans are right. They celebrate when we play well and win, and when we lose they must criticise. We have to wake up and prepare hard for the next game.
“The team wins because of the players. When the team loses the coach takes responsibility – and I take responsibility.
I know what I have to do and what to say. It’s a big lesson.”