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" It's more disappointing than Tranmere but more than that I'm quite embarrassed by it. I didn't realise we could play so poorly after having 15 or 16 games with this group of players. It's a poor effort from everybody and I apologise to the travelling fans. We had 1,600 at Tranmere but at least we went down with a fight there, we haven't done that here so I'm disappointed with it. I'm responsible, I'm the manager and I offer the apologies to people, it's a poor effort from everybody.
" The first eleven had got us in the mess and they had to get us out of it. It's tough to put on people like (Peter) Murphy and those guys and expect them to get a two goal or three goal deficit back in there. So you leave people to get through it and see what characters they have got on the pitch when things are going against them. Today was really a pretty abysmal performance from us.
" If I could put my finger on the problem then I would have done that during the game and would have picked that out. We've disappointingly conceded off two corners again though, which has happened again after Tranmere. We talked about that, we'd worked at it, we'd talked to people, one of the last things we said before going out was to make sure that you get your pick-ups done and all that is organised and said to people. Then we conceded off two corners in the first 15 minutes, a difficult game then becomes an absolute mountain to climb.
" We've just not been at the races at all. We haven't had a second ball, we've conceded off corners because we've lost the ball in the first box for the first time. So you can have as many players as you like in the box but you've got to win those first ones, the second one doesn't come into it until you win the first one. We haven't done that at Tranmere and we haven't done that here so regardless of how many you bring back and why we've still got to make sure that we are first to the ball when it comes in. Today and at Tranmere we didn't do that.
" Chris Lumsdon is not fit, he was injured, he felt his back, he actually felt it at Tranmere during the game but certainly the two days afterwards was extremely uncomfortable so we have had to leave him at home. Paul Thirlwell coming in is the obvious choice for me to put him back into the side, he's been edged back in with 20 minutes here and 30 minutes there. He's had a full reserve game, he had a game at Tranmere, he's had this game here, he's got to get back to that level - I accept that - but for me he was the obvious choice to put in. "
" He (Simon Hackney) put some excellent crosses in, we said that at half-time. He's put three or four really good crosses in, and again, at that end of the pitch we are not on the end of them first. There are areas at the back-post and there are areas in the middle where we are looking for things to be attacked because we know Simon can deliver. We've talked about delivering with pace in training, he's delivered that with pace and again we are not there in the first instance to get in the penalty box. That's obviously two vital areas of the pitch and we've been found wanting at both ends.
" I can pretty much say no to any Kayode Odejayi rumour because Kay has been in their sixteen pretty much every week that he has been there (at Barnsley). He has been in the side regularly, he's just stepped out but he has been a very much used substitute down there. He cost them £200,000, he's not a player that I think they are likely to let out and I haven't asked them because, as I say, he is a valued member of their sixteen every Saturday.
" Scott (Dobie's) name will be bandied about because he has been here before and he's a Cumbrian boy and all those types of things. We've looked at Scott though like we've looked at a number of people, we've seen him play and we're aware of his position. I felt that the transfer window was important before today, I don't swing from the rafters when we win and I don't go plunging to the depths when we lose.
" It's always been important though, I said that the squad is not big enough, it needs increasing. Richard Keogh has just got one more game unless we can re-establish that and keep that going. So if Richard was to go back to Bristol City for instance that is going to weaken us even more just in terms of numbers. So it is important that we try to improve the numbers of the squad and players at first-team level, not just squad people.
" Fifth is a nice base to build on but it doesn't feel that way at the minute because of the last couple of results. I didn't see this coming, I didn't realise that we could play as poorly as this. That is going to diminish that view of being fifth in the league, it is alright but you and I both know that it could be better. If I settle for being fifth now then I think that I am accepting second best because we need to be better than we have been today and certainly on Boxing Day.
" We have got to be better back in the two home games we have got coming up now because if we perform like this at Brunton Park then our fans will let us know, let alone the Bristol Rovers people today. It's a game of football and we've lost it and lost it poorly but Happy New Year to everybody and hopefully we can get back to Brunton Park on the 1st of January and do better for everybody. "