"Then we went to Holland and didn't perform well and the two Premiership performances since have been patchy. It's never easy to put your finger on the reasons why.
"It's possible that he (Oba Martins) has lost a bit of sparkle. He's a young player and we rely on him heavily. The experience will do him good in the long term and he will come through this experience of not scoring for a few games. But he needs more help from other players in the team, they must score goals as well.
"I could say `Yes, that's an excuse' and I could make excuses about this and that. But there's no hangover. The players have to be bigger than that, using the Alkmaar game as a crutch to lean on. I wouldn't accept players saying that because you wouldn't hear me saying it.
"Normally the fans are helpful here, but they quickly got frustrated and that got to the players. In the end it started to show in our play. They (the fans) don't pick the team and never will do. If fans voice their opinions about a particular player, it is usually because they are frustrated. But I will never make a substitution on the back of what the fans want.