Post Chelsea: Butt

As probably the most senior player in the dressing room Nicky Butt has provided Alan Shearer with a glowing endorsement, believing he is the man to drag us out of this utter mess we`ve ended up in. Speaking to the club website, Butt said:

'Alan is one of those men who has charisma and an aura about him. He demands respect and he gets that the minute he walks in the changing room. The players are happy he's here and it's been an enjoyable start. He's been very upbeat and the whole town is on a high. Hopefully now he can help get us out of the trouble we're in and I'm confident that together we can do that.

We took the game to Chelsea, worked hard and snuffed out what they had to offer. Unfortunately we couldn't create as many chances as we should have. Alan was very upbeat at half-time and said that we could win it. We had to kick on a bit in the second half but then they got a goal which was a bit lucky when it deflected before hitting the bar and coming out to Frank Lampard.

To concede a second was again disappointing and we were down after the match because we thought we could have got something. But there are plenty of positives to work on because for an hour I thought we competed very well against one of the best sides in Europe.'

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