Alex Gilliead on the Plymouth game
Striker Alex Gilliead spoke to us about the disappointment of the Plymouth game and the excitement of the FA Cup game against Yeovil."I think we all thought we deserved more than we got from the game on Saturday," he told us. "If you look at it, two deflected goals went in and that cost us the game. Throughout the 90 minutes we had enough chances to put the ball in the box and create goal scoring opportunities, but we didn't really do that.
"In terms of the performance, I thought we matched them all over the pitch. You can't dwell on the fact that two deflections won them the game because we've got a game next Sunday, so we're all focusing on that now.
"When you analyse it and look at it, it's devastating because we were just really unlucky. The second one especially - it looped over Mark [Gillespie] and went in. He could try that a hundred times and it would go wide or over the bar, but we've just got to move on from it.
"We talked after the game and I think we all felt we could have done more as an attacking unit to cause them problems. They defended well and kept the clean sheet, but we didn't feel we'd done enough."
"I don't think it will knock our confidence at all," he said. "I think our last defeat was Bristol Rovers, which was a while ago, so we know we're capable. We'll take the positives out of it, put it behind us and go again on Sunday."
On his return from injury, he commented: "I wasn't expecting to play 90 minutes but once all three substitutions were made I was pleased to be staying on. I was absolutely desperate to score but it just wasn't happening.
"I think there was a bit of rustiness but it's more about fitness when you come back from an injury. I did a lot of running over at Newcastle but it doesn't really prepare you for matches and having to get up and down the pitch."
Talking about his wide man role, he said: "I like playing on the left and the right. I like playing on the right and getting crosses in, but I also enjoy playing on the left and cutting inside to get shots off. To be honest, I'll play wherever the manager wants me to.
"I said a while back that we have so many good options in this squad. We've got real quality all over the pitch. People are ready to come in, do a job and step up to the plate, so we're all kept on our toes."
"Playing home games at away grounds has been strange," he told us. "They're basically just like away games, but we're getting support as if it's a home game, which is unbelievable. I think we had over 4,000 there on Saturday, so the fans made it feel like a home game in different surroundings.
"It is a bit strange but you get used to it quickly. It's just another football pitch in another stadium. We're training and preparing as if it was a normal game, then travelling as we would for an away game."
"I've been happy with my own form since I came to the club," he said. "I didn’t think I got a lot of the ball on Saturday but I don't know if that was because I might have been a bit tired after my injury and not getting in the right positions, or if it was just how the game panned out. I'll keep my head up and keep trying to do the positive things."
"The FA Cup has an extra buzz to it," he admitted. "Anything can happen and everyone loves a cup run. If we can get into the fourth round we could get a big team, but we can't look past Yeovil. We've got to do a job and make sure we beat them, but if we can get into the hat again that would be great for us."
"I think I've learned a lot about myself during my time here," he told us. "You've got to be on your game every single day in training. You can't slack off or say you're tired because there's someone waiting to take your place.
"You've got to show the manager what you can do then hopefully do your best for the team when it comes to playing games. Everyone in the changing room will want to be involved for the FA Cup game so we'll all have to work hard in training this week and hopefully end up on the teamsheet on Sunday."
"I said a while back that we have so many good options in this squad. We've got real quality all over the pitch. People are ready to come in, do a job and step up to the plate, so we're all kept on our toes."
"Playing home games at away grounds has been strange," he told us. "They're basically just like away games, but we're getting support as if it's a home game, which is unbelievable. I think we had over 4,000 there on Saturday, so the fans made it feel like a home game in different surroundings.
"It is a bit strange but you get used to it quickly. It's just another football pitch in another stadium. We're training and preparing as if it was a normal game, then travelling as we would for an away game."
"I've been happy with my own form since I came to the club," he said. "I didn’t think I got a lot of the ball on Saturday but I don't know if that was because I might have been a bit tired after my injury and not getting in the right positions, or if it was just how the game panned out. I'll keep my head up and keep trying to do the positive things."
"The FA Cup has an extra buzz to it," he admitted. "Anything can happen and everyone loves a cup run. If we can get into the fourth round we could get a big team, but we can't look past Yeovil. We've got to do a job and make sure we beat them, but if we can get into the hat again that would be great for us."
"I think I've learned a lot about myself during my time here," he told us. "You've got to be on your game every single day in training. You can't slack off or say you're tired because there's someone waiting to take your place.
"You've got to show the manager what you can do then hopefully do your best for the team when it comes to playing games. Everyone in the changing room will want to be involved for the FA Cup game so we'll all have to work hard in training this week and hopefully end up on the teamsheet on Sunday."
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