Lennon warns his rampant Hoops will be hard to stop

GLASGOW: Celtic manager Neil Lennon says his side will be hard to stop after watching the Hoops demolish Aberdeen 4-1 at Hampden to clinch a spot in the League Cup final.

The Hoops followed on from their 4-0 thrashing of third-placed Hearts in midweek with a dominant first-half performance that saw them net four times in the opening 33 minutes of Saturday’s tie.

And Lennon, who will lead his team out for the first time as a manager in a national final in March, believes the momentum behind his side will take some stopping.

“We followed on from where we left off on Wednesday night and if they can maintain that sort of form we are going to be hard to stop,” the Celtic boss said.

But despite a first-half performance that the Celtic manager described as the best he had seen from his side at Hampden Lennon admitted he still had a go at his players for taking their foot off the pedal in the second-half.

“We were disappointed with the goal but you can’t have everything and it’s been a good day,” the Hoops boss said.

“I told them at half-time to maintain their standards but that’s pretty difficult when you are 4-0 up. I just wanted them to win the second-half and that would have been a brilliant performance.

“I had a bit of a go at them after the game but that’s just me. You have to remember what you were like as a player.

“When you’re so comfortable and so far ahead in the game psychologically at times it’s difficult to maintain that sort of intensity in your play.” 

  

Gardner fires Birmingham into League Cup final

LONDON: Craig Gardner fulfilled a boyhood dream when he struck the winner to send Birmingham City into the League Cup final against Arsenal after coming from behind to beat West Ham United 4-3 on aggregate on Wednesday.       

With West Ham leading 2-1 after the first leg, the Londoners went further ahead thanks to a curling long-range strike from Carlton Cole in the first half before Birmingham turned things on their head after the break.

Midfielder Lee Bowyer struck against his former club and Roger Johnson levelled the tie on aggregate to send it into extra time as Birmingham woke up from their lethargy following the introduction of lively Serbia striker Nikola Zigic.

Gardner, who hit the post twice in normal time, finally found the net with a right-footed shot low into the left corner in the 94th minute to give Birmingham the lead for the first time in the tie and they held on to win 3-1 on the night.       

“It’s unbelievable ... you only dream of these things,” Gardner, a boyhood Birmingham fan, told Sky Sports. “I was saying to my mates before the game I’m going to get the winner and take us to the final. To actually do it is unbelievable.”

What had started as a poor first half erupted into a thrilling match after Birmingham manager Alex McLeish sent on Zigic, whose huge physical presence proved the undoing of West Ham.       

“It was his most effective game for us, when he plays like that he can be very very difficult to handle,” McLeish said of the Serb. “We huffed and puffed a wee bit without troubling them (in the first half) ... Zigic made the difference.”       

With both sides stuck in a Premier League relegation battle, the Cup run has provided light relief from their day to day misery but for West Ham boss Avram Grant the spotlight will once again focus on his future at the league’s basement club.       

He had been on the verge of taking a relegation-threatened club to a Cup final for the second successive year after beating the odds with Portsmouth in leading them to last year’s FA Cup final where they lost to Chelsea. But he let it slip away.

  

Birmingham through to League Cup final, Liverpool beats Fulham 1-0 to move up to 7th

LONDON (AP): Birmingham rallied to beat West Ham 3-1 after extra time Wednesday and set up a meeting with Arsenal in the League Cup final, while Liverpool climbed to seventh in the Premier League by edging past Fulham 1-0.

Craig Gardner was the match winner for Birmingham in a dramatic semifinal second leg at St. Andrew's, firing home from 25 yards in the fourth minute of extra time to earn the Midlands club a 4-3 aggregate win and a trip to Wembley.

"It's unbelievable, you dream of these things," Gardner said. "I was saying to my mates I wanted to get the winner to take us there and to do it was unbelievable."

Carlton Cole scored a stunning goal in the 31st to put West Ham 3-1 up in the two-legged series but Birmingham took the game into extra time thanks to second-half goals by Lee Bowyer and Roger Johnson.

The Blues, whose only major trophy came when they won the League Cup in 1963, will be underdogs when they play Arsenal on Feb. 27. Arsenal qualified for the final by beating second-tier side Ipswich 3-0 in the second leg of their semifinal, winning 3-1 on aggregate.

Birmingham was comfortably second best in the first half against fellow Premier League struggler West Ham and looked out of the competition at halftime.

The Hammers' superb run of results in the League Cup - England's second-tier club knockout competition behind the FA Cup - has helped keep manager Avram Grant in a job this season.

The London club took a deserved lead into the second leg and Cole, the striker who scored the winner at Upton Park two weeks ago, extended the advantage when he latched on to Wayne Bridge's throw-in and curled a dipping 25-yard shot into the far corner.

It was a different Birmingham after the break, with giant Serbia striker Nikola Zigic causing all sorts of problems after being thrown on by manager Alex McLeish for the second half.

"I said to the players at halftime that, to all intents and purposes, we were out of the cup," McLeish said. "I had to make the change and have an instant impact. Zigic made the difference."

Gardner, the team's leading scorer this season, struck the post with a low, left-foot shot in the 53rd before Bowyer equalised six minutes later when he pounced on a loose ball following a corner and arrowed a powerful half-volley into the top corner.

After piling the pressure on for the next 20 minutes, Birmingham leveled the match on aggregate when Johnson rose to meet Bowyer's corner, heading the ball into the ground and past goalkeeper Robert Green.

Cameron Jerome squandered a one-on-one chance by shooting straight at Green in the 80th and Gardner crashed a fierce drive onto the post with 20 seconds remaining of the three minutes of stoppage time.

The match went to extra time and with almost a carbon copy of his previous shot, Gardner skimmed a stunning low drive into the corner from 30 yards for what proved to be the winning goal.

"It was third time lucky - it was a tremendous goal," McLeish said. A 53rd-minute own goal by Ghana defender John Pantsil gave Liverpool a narrow win at Anfield to maintain the team's resurgence under new manager Kenny Dalglish.

The Reds are now unbeaten in their last three games under Dalglish, who took over for a second spell in charge of the club on Jan. 9 following the firing of Roy Hodgson, the former Fulham manager.

"It's getting a bit more realistic but we aren't getting carried away with being seventh - that isn't where this football club wants to be," said Dalglish, who inherited a team which struggled for results in the first half of the season. "We want to be further up than that."

The unfortunate Pantsil sliced a clearance into his own net following a goalmouth scramble to gift Liverpool the win, although Fulham rallied strongly in the second half.

Brede Hangeland saw his header cleared off the line by Liverpool midfielder Raul Meireles, while Aaron Hughes and Moussa Dembele had efforts saved by goalkeeper Jose Reina.

"I think Fulham will be feeling a little hard done by because they will think they deserved something from the game," Dalglish said.

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres had a goal harshly ruled out for offside in the first half. The three points lifted Liverpool five places in the table. Fulham remained 15th.

  

Wenger: Cup can spark trophy chase

LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes victory in the League Cup final next month would be the perfect springboard to even greater success this season.

The Gunners secured a place at Wembley against Birmingham or West Ham by defeating Ipswich 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium, overturning their one-goal deficit from the first leg against their Championship opponents.

It means Arsenal, who have gone six years without a trophy, are still competing on four fronts and looking forward to their first Wembley final since 1998.

They have reached the knockout stage of the Champions League, the fourth round of the FA Cup and maintained pace with Premier League leaders Manchester United.

“If we can win this, it will take the pressure off us to deliver in the other competitions,” Wenger said.

“We have opportunity to win one trophy, but we will go with the same heart in every competition. But we need to deliver on the day.

“This team is hungry for success – you could see we kept going and we refused to show weakness. An average team might not have qualified.”

Ipswich held firm until just after the hour mark, when Nicklas Bendtner opened the scoring, then Laurent Koscielny added another before captain Cesc Fabregas added a third.

Earlier in the victory, Fabregas was accused of diving by Ipswich players when he went over in the penalty under the challenge of Gareth McAuley but Wenger played down that controversy.

“You could see from Cesc that he is hungry,” Wenger added. “He wants to win things and this has a lot of meaning for him.”

Fabregas looks determined to end Arsenal’s long trophy drought and he said: “We will try to do our best because our fans deserve a trophy again at the Emirates.”

Bendtner also emphasised his desperation to bring a trophy to the club. The Dane was delighted to have got on the scoresheet and hopes to feature again in the final after an inconsistent season.

“I was pleased to score because it had been a little while since I had last scored and it was a great goal,” he said.

“Ipswich deserve credit because they played really well and made it difficult for us. But I knew we would have the chances and it was just about finishing them.

“We know we have not won any trophies for a long time, but we try to do everything we can to win a trophy.”

Ipswich manager Paul Jewell was proud of his side’s performance, despite their collapse in the second half.

“For an hour we’ve held them and rode our luck. We knew they would have all the ball. But we made it difficult for them,” Jewell said.

“Going forward was difficult because they kept coming at us and we were tired at the end.

“The manner of the goals was disappointing, but I can’t fault the players’ effort. They put so much into the game. Once the goal goes in it’s a big lift for Arsenal.

“We weren’t disgraced over two games. We’re just disappointed. When you get to an hour you start wondering, can we do it?” 

  

Wenger all set for League Cup changes in January jam

LONDON: Arsene Wenger believes Robin van Persie will play a vital role in Arsenal’s season, but has yet to decide whether to start the striker in today’s League Cup semi-final second leg against Ipswich.

Second Division outfit Ipswich will arrive at the Emirates with a 1-0 advantage from the first leg and with a new manager following the appointment of Paul Jewell.

But they will face an Arsenal side who have enjoyed an improved run of form since that first meeting with Arsene Wenger’s side having scored nine goals in their three games since they slipped up at Portman Road.

Van Persie has played in two of those games, scoring five goals including the hat-trick that saw off Wigan last time out and moved the London club up to second in the Premier League.

The Dutch international’s display drew warm praise from Wenger but with the striker having missed three months of the season with an ankle ligament injury, the Arsenal boss is keen not to overplay Van Persie at a congested stage of the season.

“Robin is an important player in our squad. He can finish, provide and the understanding with our offensive players is very good so of course, he will be very important,” said the manager.

“Some players have played many games, but van Persie has been out for a long time. He and Cesc Fabregas had a long breather and we hope he can benefit from that.”

But he made it clear there will be changes. “We will rotate, we have no choice,” he said. “We play nine games in January, it’s the most we have ever played.

“When you look at the fixtures we had in December it means we need to rotate from game to game. But we have fantastic players on the bench and it is very important because we cannot always play with the same eleven.”

Wenger believes the van Persie’s numerous lay-offs will ultimately help him develop as a player.

“What he has gone through has been difficult. A player who is injured is fragile. He feels useless and is without his job. He is without his happiness,” said the Frenchman.

“On the other hand, it has made him a lot stronger mentally because he had to fight against disappointments. This is what makes you strong in life.

“Robin is now completely sharp and fit and strong.”

With Arsenal still in the hunt for four trophies, Wenger is anxious his side avoid further mistakes and secure their place in the Wembley final with the minimum of fuss.

“We have a good level of confidence and we are highly focused,” he said. “We want to do well in every competition and I am confident we will be highly focused on Tuesday.”

Jewell looked on as caretaker-manager Ian McParland oversaw Ipswich’s first leg victory but he has since taken charge of two games, recording one defeat and one victory.

The former Bradford and Wigan manager admits his side face a daunting task if they are to protect their single-goal lead in the tie but claims his players will be lifted by the weekend win over Doncaster.

“It’s important for me to get off to a good start here,” he said.

“You can feel the confidence within the club but it’s only one game and we’ve got to go to Arsenal on Tuesday. It’s still a long-term project and there’s no magic wand.” 

  

Montpellier tops PSG 1-0 to reach League Cup final

PARIS (AP): Olivier Giroud headed the winner deep into extra time as Montpellier beat 10-man Paris Saint-Germain to reach the League Cup final for the first time on Tuesday.

The striker lost his marker before meeting Geoffrey Dernis' cross from the right and nodding the ball past goalkeeper Gregory Coupet and into the bottom corner in the 118th minute of a pulsating game.

PSG played extra time with 10 men after midfielder Clement Chantome's sending off in second-half injury time, but had several chances to score - only for strikers Guillaume Hoarau and Jean-Eudes Maurice to miss chances.

Montpellier defender Cyril Jeunechamp's poor backpass let in Maurice in the first period of extra time, but his lob was easily gathered by goalkeeper Laurent Pionnier.

Moments later, Maurice turned provider with a superb pass that split Montpellier's defense. Hoarau only had Pionnier to beat but clipped his shot wide of the left post after feinting to go right.

Following Giroud's goal, Maurice hit the post with 30 seconds remaining after Hoarau nodded the ball on.

Montpellier is on course for its first domestic trophy since winning the French Cup in 1990, and plays the winner of Wednesday's other semifinal between Auxerre and Marseille.

Montpellier dominated the first half, with Souleymane Camara, Karim Ait Fana and Giroud all missing chances, while Marco Estrada forced a flying save from Coupet in the 33rd minute.

PSG almost took the lead just before the interval when defender Christophe Jallet played in Hoarau down the left of the penalty area, and his powerful shot went over the bar.

PSG coach Antoine Kombouare included Brazilian playmaker Nene in his team - the French league's best player this season with 18 goals in all competitions.

Montpellier kept Nene quiet, but Chantome took advantage of the extra space and pushed forward more.

Nene had a quiet game and looked dejected when he was taken off after 59 minutes, replaced by Jeremy Clement.

PSG then started to get the upper hand as its superior fitness showed. Hoarau almost scored in the 64th when veteran winger Ludovic Giuly flicked the ball to him just inside the penalty area and he volleyed over.

Ait Fana managed to spring the offside trap and rounded Coupet in the 74th, but shot over from an angle.

Hoarau had another chance late in the second half, when Chantome's brilliant through ball put him through but Abdelhamid El Kaoutari made a superb sliding tackle.

Chantome was sent off after a second yellow card when he caught Garry Bocaly with a late tackle on the shin.

  

Wenger believes Arsenal will enter final despite shock loss

IPSWICH: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident his side will still reach the English League Cup final despite losing the first leg of the semi-final 1-0 at Division Two club Ipswich Town.

But the Frenchman conceded the Gunners will have to play much better in the second leg at the Emirates Stadium on Jan 25 if they are to meet either West Ham or Birmingham at Wembley.

A goal from Tamas Priskin, the Hungarian forward, in the 78th minute sealed victory for an Ipswich side that had sacked manger Roy Keane the previous week, following a so far struggling season in English football’s second tier.

On Saturday they suffered a 7-0 drubbing at the hands of Chelsea in the FA Cup.

“I believe we’ll turn it round, but we got a good warning tonight (Wednesday),” Wenger said after the upset result here at Portman Road.

“We’ll have to put in a better performance. With playing so many games you could see tonight that we had no spark,” the Frenchman added.

“Ipswich were sharper and we made a mistake which they took advantage of. The good thing is that we play at home in the second leg and that can make a difference. We will not always be as lacking in creativity as we were tonight.”

Priskin had previously seen an effort in the first half – an acrobatic overhead kick – ruled out for offside but marked his first start since December with a cool finish from Colin Healy’s through-ball after outpacing Switzerland defender Johan Djourou.

Wenger – desperate to end Arsenal’s six-year wait for a trophy – is trying to recruit an experienced defender before the transfer window shuts.

But he refused to blame those who formed Arsenal’s back-line, in the absence of a number of players either through injury or suspension, for the defeat.

“As a team, we did not put in the performance we wanted tonight,” he said. “In every department we were below our usual level. It would be unfair to put the blame only on the defenders.

“We looked quite in control in the first half. In the second half we looked more vulnerable defensively and I’ll put that down to fatigue.

“We lost the game because we didn’t play as well as we can.

“That would be the main lesson. That we are short defensively, maybe, because we only have two central defenders.”

  

Arsenal upset in cup, Liverpool beaten in league

LONDON (AP): Arsenal conceded a late goal to lose 1-0 at second-tier club Ipswich in the League Cup semifinals on Wednesday, and Liverpool went down 2-1 at Blackpool in the Premier League.

Tamas Priskin's goal gave Ipswich the first-leg advantage, holding off a defender before sliding the ball past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny in the 78th minute.

Kenny Dalglish's first Premier League match back as Liverpool manager ended in the club's second loss this season to Blackpool, which returned to the top flight after a 39-year absence.

Fernando Torres scored after three minutes, but Blackpool's Gary Taylor-Fletcher leveled nine minutes later and teammate D.J. Campbell's second-half goal inflicted Liverpool's 10th loss of the season.

Ipswich has had a turbulent week with Roy Keane leaving as manager and Paul Jewell appointed as his successor. The team is only three points above the League Championship relegation zone, and had been thrashed 7-0 at Chelsea in the FA Cup on Saturday.

"Pretty much everyone in the country wrote us off today, so we've surprised a lot of people," Ipswich captain David Norris said. "We let a lot of people down against Chelsea. We didn't do ourselves justice, so we went out tonight with that bit of extra determination and did what we had to.

"But there's still work to be done and we still have to go to the Emirates in the second leg."

Looking for his first trophy since the 2005 FA Cup, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger fielded strong side that included Spain World Cup winner Cesc Fabregas and England internationals Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere.

But the Premier League's third-place team failed to hit top gear and was fortunate not to lose by a bigger margin ahead of the second leg on Jan. 25 at Emirates Stadium.

"We didn't create many chances," Wenger said. "Ipswich defended very well and we were caught out. We had no spark. Ipswich were sharper than us and we made a defensive mistake, which they took advantage of. But we're at home in the second leg and that could make all the difference."

Blackpool showed that the 2-1 result at Anfield in October was no fluke and exposed the size of the task facing Dalglish, who returned Saturday to the job he relinquished 20 years ago following Roy Hodgson's dismissal.

Dalglish's challenge is not to deliver Liverpool's first English league title since 1990, but to keep the 18-time champions in the top flight. They are four points above the drop zone with 17 matches to go.

It began well for Liverpool. Dirk Kuyt passed the ball to Martin Kelly, who advanced over the halfway line before rolling a pass into the inside-right channel. Torres raced into the penalty area and sent a fierce shot past goalkeeper Richard Kingson into the roof of the net from a tight angle.

It was the Spain striker's second goal in his last nine matches, and seventh of the season.

But the visitors' joy lasted only until the 12th minute. Liverpool midfielder Raul Meireles carelessly gave the ball away in midfield to David Vaughan, whose pass allowed Taylor-Fletcher to run through the defense before rolling a shot under goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

Blackpool's winner came in the 69th, Ian Evatt beating Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel to Neal Eardley's deep cross for Campbell to head home.

  

Beleaguered Grant calls for some support from owners

LONDON: West Ham manager Avram Grant called for support from the club’s owners as speculation mounted that he is about to be sacked following his side’s 2-1 win over Bir-mingham in the League Cup semi-final first leg.

Although West Ham remain on course for League Cup glory, Grant is said to be in severe danger of losing his job after a miserable six months in charge at Upton Park. Former Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce is the latest name to be linked with the position along with ex-Newcastle chief Chris Hughton.

Grant is adamant he has no intention of losing any sleep over his future, but he would love the club’s co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold to publicly back him.

“I lived with rumours, I think, since day one,” he said. “For us, it is much easier if the rumours around were like at other clubs.

“There is Wolves around us, Wigan, Fulham, West Bromwich, Birmingham. The rumours are only about West Ham.

“If everything was more quiet, I think it would help the players more.

“Why do you need to ask me about something that is not in my control?

“You can ask me why I picked this player and not the other one because this is my responsibility. You can ask me if I want to stay or not ... no, no. Don’t ask me this!

“If I don’t want to be here, I will go to the owner and say I don’t want to be here. The other decision is not mine.”

The former Chelsea and Portsmouth manager did his hopes of retaining the role a power of good as West Ham moved to within 90 minutes of a League Cup final against Arsenal or Ipswich.

West Ham are struggling in the Premier League but they will take a slender advantage to St Andrew’s for the second leg on Jan 26 thanks to Ben Foster’s blunders.

Mark Noble had given West Ham a deserved first half leg when he beat Foster with a powerful drive that the England goalkeeper should have kept out at his near-post.

Liam Ridgewell headed Birmingham level from a corner early in the second half, then Hammers striker Victor Obinna was sent off for a petulant kick on Sebastian Larsson.

West Ham responded well to that setback and Carlton Cole netted the winner when his tame shot tricked past Foster’s weak attempted save.

  

West Ham beats Birmingham 2-1 in League Cup

LONDON (AP) - A late howler by Birmingham goalkeeper Ben Foster gifted 10-man West Ham a 2-1 win on Tuesday to take into the second leg of the teams' League Cup semifinal.

The England international let a weak shot from substitute Carlton Cole slip through his grasp and into the net in the 78th minute, just as Birmingham was looking the more likely scorer in an open first leg at Upton Park.

West Ham took the lead through Mark Noble in the 12th minute but imploded early in the second half, with Birmingham equalizing in the 56th through Liam Ridgewell and then seeing the hosts lose winger Victor Obinna to a red card.

Birmingham is at home for the second leg in two weeks' time. Tournament favorite Arsenal plays second-tier Ipswich in the other semifinal, with the first leg on Wednesday.

The win will be especially pleasing to West Ham co-chairman David Gold, who spent 16 years in control of Birmingham with partner David Sullivan before selling the club to Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung in 2009.

Gold has since been banned from Birmingham's boardroom following a spat with the club's acting chairman Peter Pannu.

Gold and Sullivan have been under pressure to fire manager Avram Grant, with the Hammers in a perilous position at the foot of the Premier League after more than half a season.

But the owners would have been delighted with the way their team took the match to Birmingham in the first half, with Foster keeping the visitors in the match thanks to a string of fine saves after Noble's strike.

The goal came following the central midfielder's initial surge into the box. His cross was not cleared and when Jonathan Spector's wayward shot fell to Noble, he lashed an effort that was parried into his own net by Foster at the near post. United States defender Spector then had a long-range shot tipped over by Foster, who also kept out strikes by James Tomkins, Obinna and Freddie Sears before halftime.

The second half was a different story altogether. Birmingham, which lost center back Scott Dann to injury, was much more threatening and equalized when Ridgewell got in front of Winston Reid to head home a corner from Sebastian Larsson.

Obinna then stupidly got himself sent off two minutes later after kicking out at Larsson as he waited to receive a throw-in.

West Ham, twice a runner-up in England's second-tier cup competition and without a trophy in 31 years, was forced to defend in numbers for the rest of the game and grabbed the winner with a rare foray forward.

Spector's cross from the right was met by Cole, whose right-foot shot from 15 yards took a slight deflection off Roger Johnson before squirming through the grasp of the unfortunate Foster.

  

League Cup is Arsenal’s best chance to end trophy drought

LONDON: Arsene Wenger knows the League Cup represents his best chance of ending Arsenal’s six-year wait for a trophy.

And ahead of the first leg of the semi-final against Ipswich, who are struggling in the Second Division, Wenger is adamant he will treat the competition more seriously than he has ever done when the Gunners travel to Portman Road today.

Arsenal are 180 minutes from a Wembley final and are up against a team that lost by seven goals to Chelsea in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Ipswich will also be under the management of caretaker Ian McParland, who oversaw the Chelsea defeat, despite ex-Derby and Wigan boss Paul Jewell being named Monday as the successor to Roy Keane, who was sacked last week.

But Gunners manager Wenger is still oncerned over his lack of personnel.

He lost Sebastien Squillaci during Saturday’s 1-1 FA Cup draw with Leeds, leaving the French boss with just two centre-backs at his disposal.

Depending on the severity of Squillaci’s muscle strain, Wenger is considering an emergency signing - possibly before the Ipswich game.

“If we only have two centre-backs then that cannot work with the number of centre-backs we have,” Wenger said. “If Squillaci has a problem then we must quickly go out for a player.”

Arsenal have welcomed back Thierry Henry, albeit only so their former striker can keep fit in the Major League Soccer off-season.

But Henry will also join in coaching sessions and may help Theo Walcott - who idolised the striker and now wears the No14 shirt made famous by Henry.

Walcott has come in for criticism for admitting he dived to win the penalty against Leeds which earned Arsenal a replay at Elland Road next week.

Gunners strikers Andrey Arshavin and Nicklas Bendtner average just under a goal every four games.

They missed a host of chances against Leeds which led to boos and jeers from their own supporters, but Wenger insisted he would stick by them.

“The fans are demanding,” Wenger said “We were not consistent technically and so they picked on our inconsistencies.

“I have no worries that Arshavin will come back into the team, but their confidence does suffer a little bit from that.”