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Narcis Pelach makes big point on refereeing vs Stoke City after third apology
Narcis Pelach insists he is trying to create a no excuses culture in the Stoke City changing room as he refuses to get exasperated by a bizarre referee’s decision in a home draw with in-form Millwall.
Stoke were looking for an equaliser early in the second half at the bet365 Stadium when Wouter Burger was clearly fouled in the six-yard box by Millwall captain Jake Cooper, with referee Will Finnie admitting afterwards it should have been a penalty and red card.
It is the third time in 11 matches as Stoke head coach that Pelach has received an apology from a referee for a potentially game-changing moment – with key incidents also going the wrong way against Hull and Derby.
READ MORE:Neil Harris fumes at 'bonkers' Millwall situation after Stoke City stalemate
READ MORE:Stoke City player ratings vs Millwall as Ben Gibson shows leadership amid ref stinker
But Pelach said: “It is frustrating but I've spoken to the players to try to help them understand what life is. You can get frustrated then stay in that state all the time you want and you are going to change nothing. Or you accept it has happened. It is the third time in 11 games that the referee has apologised to me but I went to him and said, 'Don't do it, it's fine. You are a human being, I'm a human being, I do mistakes in my job, you do mistakes in yours, today has gone that way, next day it will go the other way or not, we can't change it, it's fine.'
“It has happened. The referee didn't see it. We focus on the next thing else we live in a mental state of excuses and that's something I don't want for me or my players and I'm talking to them a lot about. I keep saying we have to focus on what we can control and do things about. It's fine.”
Stoke went on to find an equaliser through Ben Gibson and although Pelach admitted he was frustrated when the incident happened and he won’t back down easily if his side is being wronged, he wants to focus on the bigger picture.
He said: “When the moment happened I was really angry and tried to push the referee’s decision as much as I could. I saw it from my angle. I think he has got another angle, that’s what I imagine else he would have whistled. The linesman has a better angle, then when the game got stopped I thought, ok, he’s going to whistle late after being told by the linesman. When it doesn’t happen I don’t get it and the worst thing is that now we have Burger suspended for QPR, which is such an important game for us, an opportunity to put a lot of difference between us and QPR.
“It went the other way and it’s the third time that a referee has apologised to me.
“But I don’t want to be in this mental state. The more I talk about this, it teaches my players about excuses and instead I’m telling them every day I don’t want to listen to any excuse. You find a way to compete, you find a way to get better. I don’t want this in my staff, in my players. Find a way to do things better. Accept that we haven’t been good enough today and we have another chance in the next game to do things better.
“We are giving them the support and the videos to change the things we need to change.
“If I talk about (the referee) it sends the wrong message. It is what it is. Human beings. He makes mistakes, I make mistakes, fine. We have to go to QPR now and get the points. That’s what we have to do.”
