Gills manager Justin Edinburgh spoke to the media after his side's 2-1 defeat to Millwall on Tuesday
Gills manager Justin Edinburgh blamed individual errors for Tuesday night's 2-1 Checkatrade Trophy defeat to Millwall at The Den, which puts the club out of the competition at the group stage.
Speaking to the media after the game, Edinburgh said he believed several of his players had played well, but fumed at the way mistakes helped the south London club overturn Josh Wright's 17th-minute opener to win in stoppage time.
Edinburgh on…the result: “I’m getting bored of my own voice to be honest. I’m disappointed, as we did enough to win the game, but we’ve caused our own downfall again. I can’t keep defending [what I saw], I’m going to have to make changes to bring in people who are hungry and are willing to make sure that in the 46th minute and 90th minute they play to the whistle.
“There was only one team in the first half. We dominated, Millwall were going to be booed off by their fans at half-time and then a ball in the box, error, goal. That sums it up right now.
“We can’t keep losing football matches. It’s not a habit I enjoy, it’s something the crowd have not been used to since I’ve been here. My staff and I are working hard to rectify this, and we won’t sleep well until we can.”
Edinburgh on…the game’s positives: “I thought [debutant] Chris Herd was excellent tonight, absolutely first class. I thought there were some good performances out there. Deji Oshilaja was immense, I thought Elliott List and Rory Donnelly caused problems up top, Chris, Josh Wright and Jake Hessenthaler were very, very good in the middle of the park. There were some excellent performances from players who deserved to be on the winning side tonight.”
Edinburgh on…Millwall’s two goals: “I’m responsible for the team, I’ve got to start looking at individuals and make them accountable. We can’t continue to give people chances. It’s difficult with the amount of injuries we have, but I can’t keep standing in front of the press after the same things happen. We’ve given them two goals through no hard work of theirs. It’s unacceptable.
“These are individual errors. there’s nothing collective about how the two goals came tonight. I’ve named those players in the dressing room, they know who they are. When we get a full squad back, we’ll see the players who are going to be on the pitch and those who are not. There are people who are hanging on by the skin of their teeth at the moment; perhaps because of a lack of personnel to replace them. But when that is the case, then unfortunately they won’t be hanging on much longer.”
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