Friday 26 December 2014 18:35, UK
Millwall manager Ian Holloway pulled no punches after watching his side get hammered 6-1 by Norwich at Carrow Road.
Holloway admitted the drubbing was "horrible to watch" and has demanded a vast improvement when the Lions host table-topping Bournemouth on Sunday.
"You cannot be a Millwall player if you don't stand up to be counted," he said. "I was looking for fight and spirit in the second half but I didn't see it.
"I have seen it before in football - but not with this group of players.
"Obviously I will be looking for a big response against Bournemouth. It wasn't so long ago that we went to their place and drew 2-2 after being 2-0 down.
"We need that sort of performance and we also need the fans to stay with us, because if they don't it will be even more difficult for us.
"The good thing is that we have got half a season to be better than this - and we must be better than this, that's for sure."
Holloway admitted his side simply could not cope with free-scoring Canaries, who have now scored 11 goals in their last two home games.
"Norwich are a good side - and they should be up at the top end with the players they have got and the parachute money they have," he added.
"They exploited our weaknesses to the full. There were just so many mistakes and it got to the stage where I was almost afraid to attack as they would then just hit us on the break.
"To be honest it was just horrible to watch. It could have been a lot worse than 6-1."
Norwich were in control from the moment Cameron Jerome missed an easy chance in their first attack and were 2-0 up inside 20 minutes as errors from goalkeeper David Forde helped the home side along the way.
Steven Whittaker and Jerome were the beneficiaries, and the game was completely over as a contest early in the second half when a Bradley Johnson brace doubled City's advantage.
Norwich were breaking through almost at will by the time Gary Hooper made it 5-0 just after the hour mark.
Substitute Jermaine Easter did pull one back three minutes from time when Shaun Williams' free-kick came back off the bar, but Hooper had the final say with another breakaway goal.
Norwich manager Neil Adams was understandably full of praise for his side.
"There were goals galore and to be honest we should have scored even more. But that's been a little bit picky and it was a fantastic performance which has sent our fans home with smiles on their faces," he said.
"The difference between now and when we weren't winning our home games is that we are now sticking our chances away.
"Earlier in the season we were playing well at home and not getting the results we deserved but that has changed in the last couple of games.
"At the moment we are playing with some style and are also proving difficult to break down.
"I was able to make some substitutions with Sunday's game at Reading in mind. The only setback was losing Carlos Cuellar with a thigh injury near the end, which meant we had to play the last few minutes with 10 men.
"He has got to be a doubt for Sunday."
