What have you been saying to the players after that?
I really feel for them because in the second half it looked like if one team was going to edge it, it was going to be us. I thought we were on top in the second half, but ultimately we can’t keep relying on clean sheets to accumulate points. It’s pretty obvious where we are a little bit deficient at the minute.
The goal was a bit of a kick in the teeth wasn’t it?
Yes, they haven’t had to work too hard for it. It’s difficult for the centre-halves because they are constantly living on the edge because if they make one mistake, they know it’s probably going to be critical. I feel for them as a group because in terms of effort, I don’t think they could have given us any more.
What was the challenge today, in terms of how you could have got something out of the game?
They are no mugs. They are a good side, who were excellent against Peterborough and Lincoln. My view of it was, I thought we had the better of the game. We made opportunities, we are just a little bit deficient in the top area of the pitch now, which is constantly putting us on the back foot.
You made opportunities, but not hugely clear cut ones. Would that be fair?
The game is still raw in my head, but from memory, Luciano’s is probably the best chance of the game. There weren’t loads of clear-cut chances in the game and there probably aren’t. The games you go through, there aren’t that many clear-cut ones. The ones there were, we probably edged the opportunities.
How confident are you of getting what you want in the final week of the window?
We have a week. We know what we are looking for and we’ve known for a little while. Hopefully something will drop this week.
Is the plan still to bring in two loanees?
Yes.
Anything else likely to happen, do you think?
I wouldn’t have thought so, no. We have five or six out. One or two are short-term, two or three are a little bit longer, but in most areas we are okay. In terms of attacking changes, we were very light. In most departments, we are probably okay. It’s obvious which departments we need help in.
Had Will Goodwin been available today, would you have kept him in the team?
It wasn’t an option, so I never got that far to having that debate. We knew on Tuesday he’d be out.
Six out, so no luck regarding injuries?
Yes.
How soon do you think you might have Oli Hammond back?
Will won’t be very long, we are nursing him. I don’t think Oli is a million miles away. Hopefully those two will be two more bodies, which should help us.
But George Lloyd and James Olayinka are likely to be longer term?
Yes, Lloydy longer term. Links is going to be a little while.
How hard is it to be Cheltenham Town head coach right now?
I’ve just said to the players, when you are going through a tough time, all you can do is keep going. It was a game of fine margins. The only thing we can do is dust ourselves off, reset and we have to be big enough and brave enough to put ourselves out there to be shot down again. If we produce a similar level of performance, maybe next week the mistake…the game could easily have tilted either way 1-0. If it had tilted our way 1-0, we’d be having a completely different conversation and the mood would be completely different. It’ll test us mentally, but we have to be resilient enough to keep putting ourselves out there to be able to deliver performances and ball willing, it drops our way next time.
Fair to say Shrewsbury, Reading and this game all fine margin games?
Bolton were really good and they had the drop on us definitely. Every other game, it’s not like we are getting slapped, opened up, we are in every game, competitive. 90 per cent of it is functioning okay. We have to keep chipping away. The easiest thing now would be to curl up and not put yourselves on the line. I told the players to worry about performances and let me worry about the other stuff.
How is Liam Smith?
We are still trying to assess the severity of it and how long it’s going to be.
But it’s his ankle that he has had operated on previously?
Yes, but it’s not the same thing. It’s a bone above where the tendon was reattached.
How do you think Elliot Bonds did in his more advanced midfield role?
Bondsy did okay. He has played that position before, he is going to give you a different profile in there to what a Liam Sercombe does, or a Will Ferry does. Again, he did well to last the game. Last 10-15 minutes it was catching up with him. Massive effort from him.
Has he come through okay?
Yes, his knee is absolutely fine.
You said you’ve know what you need for a while. Did you think it might go down to the final week, or days to get the right player or players in those attacking positions?
It takes a long as it takes, without being flippant. There is a limited pool of players and top end of the pitch, teams are always willing to take forwards and stockpile them. They are so key to what you are trying to do. There is always a chance it could go later into the window, yes. We’d like to get our work done as soon as possible, but it’s obviously not been an option for us.
How are the players in there?
They are not bouncing off the walls, obviously. They are spent from the game and they didn’t have anything left to give. They are desperate to do well and it’s difficult mentally when you keep putting the amount of effort every day and you keep getting sucker punches. They’ll be absolutely fine in terms of togetherness and spirit. There won’t be any heads dropping.
How do you think Luciano D’Auria-Henry did on his first start?
He did well. People who saw the game will have their own opinions, but he gave us an attacking threat and his delivery was good. He is diligent defensively and defended the back stick well when he had to. Hopefully he’ll keep growing, getting stronger and will give us more thrust and attacking options.
How has Owen Bevan looked so far?
He’s only been in for one day. We’ve been aware of him for a little while. I speak to people at Bournemouth and Carl Fletcher speaks really highly of him and Fletch was a good centre-half himself, so he can probably spot one.
