A very honest Beckett confessed, “I wasn’t surprised to be left out because, if I’m honest, I haven’t been playing well. I’ve been struggling for goals and my general play hasn’t been great, so you won’t hear any complaints about what the manager did. He asked me if I’d been rushed back too soon, but I didn’t feel that was the case even though I missed the first few games of the season. I had to agree with everything the manager said. It was a time for holding up my hands and saying ‘Fair enough’."
“I haven’t been able to get into my stride, but I’m not someone who looks for excuses or tries to blame it on anyone but myself. Losing form isn’t something which has happened very often in my career, and nor is being dropped from the team, but I’m the only person who can change it. Scoring goals is a big part of my game and, although I’ll try to do my bit with link-up play and running off the ball, I haven’t been contributing enough. Sometimes, when a player isn’t performing at his best, he can end up being carried by the team – and the rest of the lads have been carrying me."
“I probably deserved to be left out, and getting back in will be tough because the only part of the squad which isn’t hit by injuries at the moment is up front. Andy Liddell is playing well and scoring goals, so that leaves four of us pushing for one position. The biggest disappointment this season is not that I’m missing chances, it’s that I’m not really getting them in the first place. That’s my own fault, not the team’s, because a good striker will always get himself in the right positions. You should be on the end of crosses, anticipating where the ball will drop and ready to cash in when you get there."
“That’s especially true for me because I’m not going to pick the ball up 50 yards out and sprint past three defenders, but for some reason it just hasn’t happened. It’s rare for me to go a few games without scoring, but hopefully the whole situation will turn around at the drop of a hat. It may be that one chance will come along soon, I’ll stick it away and everything will start to flow naturally. I’m looking forward to that day because I’ve been a disappointment this season and it feels as though something needs to spark me off. But you don’t become a bad player overnight and my record says it won’t be long before the goals start flying in again.”
So Beckett proves that he is a man and his shoulders are strong enough to carry the responsibility. It's a pity that not all the Latics players are that strong and that they can't stand up and be counted!