Billy Goes Ballistic - A Disgraceful Performance

Love him or loathe him, Billy Davies was right to slate his players in public following his sides latest excuse for a football performance at Burnley on Saturday.

I'm rapidly warming to the fiery Scot and his post match interviews on Radio Nottingham are a massive improvement on his dour predecessor Colin Calderwood. It makes a refreshing change to hear a manager come out and state that his charges are not doing their jobs. It's even more refreshing to see the guilty parties named and shamed. For too long, these players have been able to hide behind the feeble excuses of a succession of failed managers. Billy Davies tells it as it is and he doesn't pull any punches.

Following the 5-0 drubbing at Burnley, Davies was understandably irate, with yet another abject display from the Reds'. He said afterwards, that the players owed the fans an apology. You can listen to his post match comments at BBC Radio Nottingham. He said, 'The first thing we should be doing is apologising to our travelling fans. We showed a lack of desire and commitment and I am very disappointed. You have to be born with a winning mentality. You cannot work on individual errors or having a will to win and we have players who lack a will to win.'

It's worth listening to his comments about off field discipline. That is being taken as a direct criticism of midfielder Lewis McGugan. There's no doubt he's having a torrid season and it sounds like he's not as fit as the gaffer thinks he should be. If true, it's a sad indictement on McGugan. He was expected to have a big impact on the Championship this year, but in truth, he's been a passenger in the side at times.

Keeper Paul Smith was also singled out and blamed by Davies for Burnley's first goal. 'Goalkeeping mistakes set the tone for a disgraceful performance. It was a poor reaction to losing the goal. But the fact of the matter is, we keep shooting ourselves in the foot.'

I'm all for Davies lambasting the players and applaud his naming and shaming of them. Unlike Megson, who ruled with an iron fist, there is a legitamacy and honesty about what Davies says. Megson picked fights with players that he couldn't win, with this lot Davies stands a chance. Some of these players will do well to listen to what the manager has to say. Some though will definitely be shown the door in the summer and we wont have to worry about them again. In Billy we trust and in Billy, we may have someone with the balls big enough to keep us in the Championship.

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