Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur has come out and said that he would have been on the verge of leaving Selhurst Park on Saturday, if he was a fan watching the performance against Sunderland.
The 29-year-old expressed his views after the 4-0 defeat against the Black Cats which saw a number of fans leave at half-time, after a chorus of boos and a chant of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” circulating around Selhurst Park.
Speaking after the game the Scotland international said: “If I was a fan today, I probably would’ve been on the verge of leaving but they stuck with us through the second half. They deserve better. I heard the manager getting a bit of criticism at the end but it’s not down to him.
A scarf thrown onto the pitch by a supporter, during the game.
“The manager can prepare us on the opposition but we as players must do our jobs individually and collectively. We need to produce better performances to get ourselves out of this situation.”
“We’re embarrassed that we’ve let everyone down. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing against or what people expect of you, if you put in a performance like that, you’re not going to beat anyone. We obviously need to lift ourselves quickly, have a look at each other and not make excuses – we have to stand up and be counted.”
The Eagles have only won two games at Selhurst Park this season with the last being against Southampton at the beginning of September with a 3-0 victory. Prior to that, it was the three points taken off Stoke, who Palace visit this weekend.
“We need to do better at home,” McArthur continued.
“The players will speak to each other and I think we need to be honest because today’s performance wasn’t acceptable. It’s not acceptable at this football club and we need to demand more from each other.”
A number of fans tweeted on Saturday during the game, that they had in-fact left Selhurst Park at half-time, not wanting to see any more of the embarrassing performance with some heading home to watch the rugby or some to the pub.
Twitter: Gone home to watch the rugby. Disgusted at what has happened to the spirit and fight that used to be synonymous wit… https://t.co/WAyKyco4Qb (@StuJHolt)
Twitter: Real toxic atmosphere at SP. Loads fans gone home, people smashing seats up, throwing stuff into the pitch & fucking angry #CPFC (@jelthecaddy)
Twitter: Looks like some Palace fans left at HT https://t.co/s3Q2rUHGgC (@BroadcastMoose)
