Options add substance to Coleman’s half-time fury

Early in December, the Sky television cameras captured Chris Coleman chewing furiously on the touchline at Scunthorpe’s Glanford Park as his out of form Coventry City side trailed the hosts by a goal to nil going into the break.

A similar image was available to BBC viewers throughout the first-half of Sunday’s game against Leicester, Coleman’s demeanour leaving no-one in any doubt as to what his mood was.

‘I spoke to them about tactics and then I spoke to them about a few other things,’ he said after seeing City fight back from two goals down to earn a creditable
point.

‘They came out and gave me a response. If you haven’t got 11 players who are ready to work then tactics don’t matter.

‘They came out in spite of me, maybe because of some of the things I said to them.’

Much is always made of second-half fightbacks being down to a dressing room rollicking but that can only work so often.

Backing up Coleman’s anger however must have been the knowledge that, unlike at Scunthorpe he had options at his disposal to give real substance to his demand for better in the second-half.

Aside from a clutch of youngsters, the manager’s only real option at Glanford Park was to throw on-loan striker Gary Madine into the fray in the hope that his height could fashion a chance.

At the Walkers’ Stadium, Aron Gunnarsson, Freddy Eastwood and Freddy Sears were all on the bench, enabling Coleman to make changes at key times.