Lee Naylor admitted his surprise at seeing Craig Dawson struggle for Wolves in Saturday’s defeat to Brentford.
Gary O’Neil‘s side were given something of a reality check at Molineux, with the Bees winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Christian Norgaard and Ivan Toney.
Wolves gifted their opponents the goals on the day, and there was a lack of incisiveness in the final third, after losing Matheus Cunha early doors to injury.
After the win over Chelsea, this was a frustrating result and performance.
Many Wolves players just weren’t at the races, and one man who’ll feel he could have done better was Craig Dawson…
Lee Naylor surprised to see Craig Dawson struggle for Wolves against Brentford
Defeats are always harder to take when the goals for the opposition are gifts, and that was the case on Saturday at Molineux.
The marking on Norgaard from Dawson for the opener was weak, and Jose Sa could also have done a lot better with the corner.
Then for Toney’s goal, Dawson played a risky ball into Tommy Doyle in midfield which was intercepted.
The Bees got the ball forward quickly and into Toney to score with a first-time finish.
Wolves were just really sloppy at the back, and Naylor reckons Dawson really struggled. He said on Matchday Live Extra: “I thought the whole team struggled to get into it. Dawson even looked a little bit shaky today, when he’s been consistent throughout this year. Dawson struggled a little bit.”
Craig Dawson should start v Spurs but he needs a big display
It was unusual to see Dawson have a poor outing like he did against Brentford.
The 33-year-old is normally so assured in everything he does but it never really happened for him in the usual way it does on Saturday.
The £45,000-a-week star’s passing was sloppy and players were running off him.
But he himself will know that he was below his usual standards and he’ll be determined to atone this weekend against Spurs – and Gary O’Neil should stick with him.
If he has another poor display, then the manager should consider Santi Bueno.