Manager Paul Simpson spoke to us after last night’s 5-1 defeat at Reading.
“It was massively disappointing,” he said. “If you don’t do the basics properly then you’re going to get found out and that’s exactly what’s happened tonight.
“We’ve missed tackles and we haven’t cleared our lines. I actually thought we started the game well but it was a really poor goal to give away to start with. We then showed the right sort of desire to get ourselves back in it with a really good equaliser. It was a good diagonal, a great ball in from Robbo and a great run from Luke Plange.
“The two goals we conceded after that are just absolutely pathetic and we got found out. For the fourth goal I thought it was a great finish and the fifth one is a simple run down the middle of the pitch which we didn’t track. It’s lots and lots of little things.
“We showed them the clips of what Reading are all about and we told them that they were a little bit vulnerable from crosses and set pieces. We got a corner in the first minute but took it short and didn’t put it into the box, then we got another one just after it and we tried a nutmeg on the edge of the box instead of putting it in. There were so many basic, simple mistakes. It was a really tough night for us.”
United came out for the second half and had some chances, but couldn’t find a way back into the game.
“At the start of the second half we were causing them problems by turning it round and putting it in and we had players who were running, then we stopped doing it again,” Simpson continued. “It was the simple things. We knew they’d play a very high line so if we got the ball in behind we could cause them problems.
“It’s the simple side of the game and for some reason they thought they were better than that. Unfortunately I think that’s a lesson that we’re not better than that. We need to start doing the basics much better than we did tonight, otherwise we’re going to be in for a bit of a shock.
“It's a massively disappointing way to end what has been such a positive week for our football club. We’ve got a proper turning over tonight and deservedly so, I thought Reading were right tonight but I also felt they were there to be beaten.
“If we’d have done it properly and continued doing what we were doing but done it even better I think we could have got something out of it. That sounds really stupid when you’ve been stuffed 5-1 but we’ve had a bit of a lesson there tonight.”
Joe Garner came off in the first half with what looked like a concerning injury, but the gaffer was able to give a positive update on the striker: “He’s back from hospital now, he’s had eight or nine stitches in a cut in his knee which was a bit of a blow.
“It was really innocuous how it happened as well but I thought Luke came on and worked really hard and got his goal which he’s needed.
“Another disappointment is that this was the last game we needed to try and get through without yellow cards but Jack Armer has picked one up which means he’s suspended. I thought Jack Robinson did ok tonight so he deserves that opportunity now.
“I took Mellish off because he’s the sort who could have lost his head so it was damage limitation to make sure he didn’t pick up another one. Sam got through it, as did Mox. I suppose that’s the only positive that we haven’t picked up lots of yellow cards and suspensions.
“I took Dylan off at half time but it was just a tactical change. I thought Dylan actually got on the ball for us but it was just a case of me not wanting to carry on with that shape because I needed to get another striker on.
“Dylan was fine, it was probably harsh on him but I felt like it was the right thing to do because Mellish and Mox give us a little bit more legs and have the ability to go and get forward. It was a tactical thing but it wasn’t about the shape tonight, it was about players not tracking runners, not clearing their lines, not defending properly and not talking to each other. The first three goals are really poor goals for us to giveaway which is something we haven’t done particularly often this season.
“I think everybody, myself included, is going to have to have a long hard look at ourselves over this period where we don’t have a game. It’s going to feel like a hell of a long break.”
556 United fans made the trip down to Berkshire, with the United boss paying tribute to those who made the journey: “You have to feel for them making that journey tonight. They stayed at the end and we can only go and thank them because we haven’t gone and performed for them tonight. I’m sure it’s going to be a really tough journey home for them as well.
"They were outstanding, they really were, and our performance wasn’t. We made it a real tough night for them, for ourselves, and it’s such a massive disappointment because there’s such a buzz around what’s gone on around this football club over the last week."
