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" It was dull wasn't it from our point of view, we were a bit dull, the whole thing wasn't like an FA Cup tie, the whole thing was dead. It was a horrible night and we started off like a bag of rags to be honest. I let the players know what I thought at half-time, and probably after the first 20 minutes the game was pretty even. They had got their two goals though and had surrendered a bit of possession and a bit of territory to us and we weren't clever enough to break them down after that.
" The second-half we were on top by quite a bit but we never found that quality to break down what I thought was an ordinary side to be honest. I am disappointed but we have lost the game in the first 20 minutes when we started off, we never got out of the traps. I think that with our side and with our players sometimes if you give them a pat on the back and tell them well done, then they go into some sort of zone of, I don't know what it is, but it is not what I am after.
" It is not what I expect and we have got to be better than that, we have got to be tougher, stronger, more determined defensively, we can't just play pretty football when we are trying to go forward. We actually started the game alright and then gifted them two goals which were like goals you concede in training or five-a-side, it is just not acceptable and that puts you on the back-foot for the rest of the game. You are then chasing a game that you should really be in the box seat.
" I think that we played some decent stuff at times, we popped it about, passed it around but nothing really hurt them. Every shot that we had was tame, it was into the goalkeeper, every cross we had was in an area which gave the keeper a chance and then if it didn't then the back-four defended better than our strikers. They were not as willing enough to go in and get in front of people and hurt themselves to score a goal.
" On that score you would probably say that we had a lot of possession and a lot of attacking options but we didn't really find that pass or that cross or that shot to trigger us off. I think that if we had got a goal then we might have gone on to win the game because I just thought that they were waiting to be beaten again were Crewe. They just backed off and backed off and we never caused them that problem, that is disappointing. "
" The set-pieces are disappointing, we mentioned that at half-time, we have got probably the three best dead-ball specialists in the league, I can tell you that now, (Marc) Bridge-Wilkinson, (Graham) Kavanagh and Jeff Smith. They are as good as anything, they are looking to pick things out and the balls that they use in the FA Cup fly through the air that quick.
" We were just saying to whip them in with loads of pace but for some reason it is floated up or it is nipped into the near-post or it is hitting the first man. We are disappointed with that because set-pieces sometimes in games like this when you can't find a way through in general play are a good opportunity to get yourself back in the game. We didn't do that tonight though and it is a massive wake up call, back to the league, it is going to be tougher.
" We can't play any other way than at flat out and at full speed making tackles, putting people under pressure and defending as a unit. We possibly missed Paul Thirlwell today, he does that job really well for us and he keeps the insurance there for when we go forward. It would be great to go forward in numbers but we sometimes leave ourselves too open at the back.
" We never play 4-5-1, we play with two wingers, it is 4-3-3. When we play that system, whatever you want to call it, we have got four or five players that can get into positions to score. They come from deeper, they come late, they come on the burst and sometimes it is harder to defend against. So we have a method in our madness, tonight obviously with the situation with Paul we haven't been able to do that.
" It is a system that works for us sometimes and sometimes the 4-4-2 at Grays worked, so let's not get harped on about a system. Tonight though we got the ball in good areas, we got it wide enough, we played with wingers, we got 30 crosses in in the game or something like that, an amazing amount of crosses. We didn't really get the quality and we didn't really get the movement and the braveness in the middle to get on the end of stuff though. "
" So it is a predictable system, but it is not predictable when those crosses are flying in like they were against Cheltenham and they were against Brighton when we looked like getting on the end of them. Today though we didn't really look like scoring, for all that possession we had and all that territorial advantage we had, we never really looked like scoring tonight, I couldn't see us getting a goal.
" The players will be knocking on my door saying that they should be playing on Saturday, that is what players are like. Listen, I can make changes if I want to do can't I, but we are not talking about leaving people out and dropping people, we are talking about trying to find the best team every week to find us a result in the next game. Whichever system and whichever players we play on Saturday there can't be too many complaints.
" People didn't play tonight all over the pitch, they just didn't really play as well as they can if that makes a bit of sense. I know that that might sound like a bit of a stupid statement but we need a bit more cutting edge, we need a bit more determination, we need a bit more steel in our play right from the start of the game. Because after the first 20 minutes the game just mulled along didn't it, it wasn't really going anywhere for us. In that sense players can't be too disappointed if I want to shake things up a little bit.
" There doesn't need to be a knee jerk reaction, we have done that already and you can't just see a performance like that. Because we could go back and talk about the other three performances, like the Grays one away and the Brighton and Cheltenham ones, saying that we didn't need any changes after those.
" Tonight though you think that we do need to shake things up a little bit, but there is not a desperation. There are good players out there and you can see that if you take the first 15 minutes out of it, I don't really want to hide from the first 15 minutes but we were much better than Crewe and we caused a lot more problems than Crewe. You are 2-0 down though and that is a massive factor in football, games are shaped by what happens in those periods when they are on top. "
" Whether we were on top or not is debatable but they certainly got two goals when we were at the other end of the field which hurt and is very hard to come back from. We could do with something maybe a little bit different in certain areas but we are always looking to do that. I am always looking to bring better players in if I can find them at the right price and better than what we have got.
" The strikers thrive on service and tonight they have got some service and didn't really find themselves to get in on the end of certain crosses and stuff. I thought that Gary Madine actually did quite well tonight and to be fair to him if he scores his goal then his performance becomes a good one.
" I felt a bit sorry for him because he has worked his socks off there, got a great chance and on another day he slots that in for 2-1 and we are back in the game, and then we are talking about how our strikers have got us back. Strikers are judged on scoring goals though, if they are not scoring goals and then they are not contributing in other ways then they are going to come under pressure.
" As a rule though Danny Graham has had a tough three or four weeks in terms of his performances, he has battled away on his own, he has worked his socks off for us and I felt that he looked a bit leggy tonight. That is why I kept Gary on and made the change with Michael Bridges who looked OK when he came on. If they don't score goals then they are under pressure, if the back four concede goals then they become the pressure too, that is basic common sense football.
" I wouldn't fault him (Chris Howarth) at all, I don't think that he did much wrong. I think that apart from a couple of kicks that he spewed his game was decent. He came in mid-morning and didn't know that he was playing, then Ben (Williams) dropped out with an illness and he has come in. Then to be fair after picking the first goal out of the net he has done himself no problem, he has been OK, he has been fine. "
" They didn't have a great deal of activity around him, but I felt sorry for him with the two goals, they were very good finishes and he couldn't do much about them. He actually made a good save for the second one until the rebound fell to the player (Shaun Miller) and he put it in, he had no chance for the second.
" Obviously the players have just had their cold baths now to try to get some recovery into their bodies. We won't do much tomorrow and then we will travel and we will train at Cheltenham on Friday on our way, so that we break the journey up and get the legs going. We might have to go a little bit more ferocious with them again like I did before Grays, and let's make sure that we start off better.
" I am not happy with the start of the game and I have let the players know, to be fair they have sat there and they have taken on the chin what I had to say, that is what I would expect with them. They don't like it sometimes but sometimes you feel that we can't just cruise along and have the pats on the back when we are doing well. Things have to be highlighted and identified and put right when they go wrong.
" We have got some big games coming up haven't we, we have Leicester after Swindon and then we have Northampton away after that, so Swindon is a game that we can get something out of. We have got to sit down, regroup, have a good talk about where we think that we can do better, where we felt that we didn't get things quite right.
" I am not making a massive thing about Saturday just yet, I am not in that situation quite at the moment. I definitely think that we are improving but the first 15 or 20 minutes wasn't good enough and that always puts you on the back-foot. We will take our time to think about Swindon though and try to get that right, and then cause them problems at the weekend too. "