Neil Harris said his side were not clinical enough at the Eco-Power Stadium as Doncaster seal narrow victory.
Gillingham manager Neil Harris was frustrated at how his side managed to lose in the team’s 2-1 defeat at Doncaster on Saturday.
Ben Close scored a brace for the visitors, which left Harris disappointed due to both goals coming directly from restarts in the game.
Harris also bemoaned several missed opportunities. Gills had huge chances throughout the game, with the manager knowing that the lack of a clinical threat cost them.
Assessment of the fixture…
“They didn’t cause us loads of problems. We had chance after chance after chance over the course of the 90 minutes. What’s my gripe? The two goals. The winning goal is a great strike. Everyone has just seen the picture of the winning goal.
It’s poor from us on a set piece, on a restart from a throw-in. Our organisation is really poor. It is bad communication from the players, but it is a great strike into the top corner.
“Before that, we have had six, seven or eight sitters, and I am talking absolute sitters.
“It is disappointing. I can’t fault the lads for their effort and desire. We changed shape today because of the personnel that was not available, and we were not clinical enough in the final third.”
Being clinical…
“We haven’t won the game because we haven’t been clinical enough. We should be coming off the pitch being four or five up in that game. If you don’t take your chances, then you’re not going to win games of football at any level. Today, we paid the price for not being clinical enough.”
On Jake Turner’s contract renewal…
“You try and keep your players that you want to keep for the right reasons. Jake, we felt as a player, is in the last year of his contract and is now 24. We would lose him on a free next summer, and we feel like he has done really well and deserved the reward. He gets the reward of a longer contract, and we tie him down for longer because we think we can develop him.
“How far he has come in 12 months is a credit to Jake, but also a credit to Deren Ibrahim, who works with him every day, and one person that you can’t forget is Glenn Morris. He kept him out of the team last year and has pushed him really hard and is pushing him really hard.
“What I have been very clear with Jake is congratulations on the new contract, but you have got to keep developing because if you don’t, you won’t be in the team.”
Discussing the injuries…
“We keep getting injuries in the same position. You are talking about four 8’s/10’s today, which meant that we changed shape to a back five to play a lot narrower through the middle of the pitch. It’s frustrating. All that we can do is hope that we get them back sooner rather than later.
“We know that Tim Dieng is going to be out for a while. Oli Hawkins is now going to be out for a minimum of six weeks, also. With Jonny [Williams], who was ill today, and George Lapslie and Dom Jefferies, hopefully, they will get a lot closer, and we will see if they have a chance for next weekend.”