Sean Dyche fumes at Nottingham Forest fringe players for ‘unacceptable’ first-half display in FA Cup defeat – ‘Look in the mirror’

The Premier League outfit found themselves with a mountain to climb in Wales when their Championship hosts raced into a 2-0 lead.

A brace from substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi helped Forest claw back a 3-1 deficit to 3-3 after the break, but they were defeated on penalties on a dramatic night at the Racecourse Ground.

“The first half was completely unacceptable,” Dyche told TNT Sports after the defeat. “I let the players know, and certainly some individuals will know, and they’ve got to look in the mirror at that side of things.

“But, the strangeness of football, I thought the players that came on in the second half were a credit, and we went on and looked like a Premier League side” .

“Callum’s (Hudson-Odoi) goals, brilliant from him, and we get back in it, and then as you know penalties are a lottery. We’ve created enough chances to win the game, but we didn’t in the end.

Highlights: Forest pay the penalty in thrilling FA Cup loss to Wrexham

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“You can’t do that in the first half, completely unacceptable, to me, but also I told them to look in the mirror because that is unacceptable to the badge as well.”

Dyche used the game as an opportunity to give a rare start to some fringe players but admitted he’s unlikely to be turning to them again soon.

“It’s one of those, isn’t it? They all knock on your door and say: ‘Why aren’t I playing?’ – well, the evidence is quite honestly there. For some, not for all,” he said.

“That’s what football is. You’ve got to train right all the time, and you’ve got to prepare right because when your day comes you’ve got to be ready. Too many were not ready in the first half.”

He added: “I could have taken all of them off, including myself probably!”

Dyche made three changes at half-time, with James McAtee, Dilane Bakwa and Oleksandr Zinchenko making way, and he suggested the fringe players who got a chance are unlikely to be in contention for a starting spot again soon.

“We’ve got to make changes because of the game schedule, but they showed their hand,” he said.

“They won’t be knocking on my door and saying ‘why aren’t I playing’, that’s for sure, that first half group.”

Wrexham celebrate HOLLYWOOD moment as Okonkwo save seals shoot-out win

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‘Players want to make excuses’

TNT Sports experts Steve McManaman and Robbie Savage were equally baffled and disappointed by the under-par performance of Forest’s rotated side in the first half as Forest crashed out of the cup.

McManaman said: “We mentioned it before the game – attitude. Do they realise how important the FA Cup is? Are they at it? Are they going to be fit enough?

“Because a lot of the players if they don’t play in the first team don’t play in the Under-21s because they’re too old, so a lot of them haven’t played a 90 minute, hard game for months.

Savage tells Forest fringe players to ‘look in the mirror’

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“That’s what showed. Lethargy, no energy as they moved the ball from side to side, slow as you like, allowed Wrexham to get into the lead, and then they are always playing catch-up.

“We knew they would be better in the second half, because they’ve got more quality on the bench. But what a disappointment for him and the 1300 fans who have travelled in this weather, at this time of night, to watch that first half.”

Savage, who manages National League side Forest Green Rovers, spoke of his own experiences dealing with players who are desperate for more game time.

“Players want to make excuses. It’s somebody else’s fault,” said Savage.

“Look in the mirror and think ‘you know what, I’ve had an opportunity and I haven’t taken it’. Don’t be knocking on my door as a manager, because you’ve had that opportunity.

“Train well every time, because I’ll change the team if they don’t train right. I’ll do that. It’s massive for a manager to feel they can trust you.”