Graham Kavanagh on the Gillingham game
Manager Graham Kavanagh gave us his reaction to the disappointing home defeat against Gillingham.
“I was pleased with the performance but totally gutted about the result,” he said. “It’s incredible the way game went that we haven’t got anything to show for it.
“It can be a cruel game because I thought we dominated right across the board. We’ve created chances and on another day it would have been comfortable for us. In the end two individual mistakes have cost us and that can happen if you don’t put the ball in the net at the other end. We’re very disappointed but we have plenty of positives to take away.”
“I think we saw the spirit when we were 2-0 down,” he told us. “The lads kept going, their heads didn’t drop and they kept trying to pass the ball and play their game. We had players trying to take responsibility and we got into a lot of good areas. I thought overall we were by far and away the better team through the 90 minutes.
“We do need a bit of luck but I think it will change for us if we keep getting that level of performance. We can’t play like this on and off though. It has to be every single game. There are teams in the league who are better than us, quite clearly, but our togetherness and team shape has caused a lot of opposition teams problems this season. It’s vital that continues.”
“We changed our shape again today to try and get two up at the top end of the pitch,” he explained. “We did look a bit susceptible to the counter attack because of that. I accepted that because we wanted to be creating chances and we wanted to play the game in their half as much as possible. We got that but we just couldn’t get the goals it deserved.”
“This is a difficult period but we have to keep going,” he added. “All we can do is concentrate on what we do. We aren’t in the bottom four and we have to look to keep it that way by getting a result on Tuesday.
“We have 17 games left and every one of them is vitally important. We have 51 points to play for and we have to maximise every chance we get. We have to be aware of what’s going on around us but we have to make sure every game we play is about us. The position we are in is real and we have got to do something about it.
“The lads are bound to be feeling down but they have to get on with it. We will dust ourselves down and make sure we focus on the positives so that we’re ready to go again. We do have a young group but every player is desperate to improve. The fact is this is a harsh environment and they have to step up. We are a bit young and naïve but it is what it is. We just keep going, we keep fighting, we keep pulling together and we hopefully keep getting performances like that. If we do then I am sure we will turn them into victories. I do have the hope and belief that we will get out of this.”
On trialists Paul Reid, Lewis Young and Derek Riordan, he said: “I spoke to Paul and Lewis on Friday and I told them they could go. We still have a couple in the building and there are a few players out of contract we are also considering. Obviously I only want to bring people in who will add to the group so it’s something we want to get right.
"Then it will come down to budget and whether we feel we can afford it. If we can we will certainly endeavour to get them in the building. I could say that it is experience we’re looking for but the budget will dictate what we can and can’t do. That’s just where we’re at right now.”
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