Martin confident current approach will result in victories soon
Martin Allen is adamant that the persistent hard work and dedication the team are showing will soon result in a win.
at the weekend with Charlie Lee’s dismissal early in the second half proving pivotal, but Martin gave the squad huge praise for the way they reacted to try and claim victory.3-2 defeat at the hands of CrawleyThe Gills suffered a
He said: “Overall I thought we were more than comfortable and looking like the team that were going to win.
“We haven’t won the game but they give it everything they’ve got. They put a real shift of hard work and graft in and every player that came in to the dressing room after the game I said well done and thank you for putting in great effort for the team.
“It’s easy to criticise them and get on their backs but that’s the last thing they want. We have to keep helping them and it’s my job to help them get through it.
“We don’t look like a team that is down the bottom and not winning because they have tremendous resolve, they keep bouncing back and keep having a go and we need to keep practising.”
Martin explained the decision to bring on Myles Weston after half an hour with Bayo Akinfenwa making way.
He said: “We had to change it, they were getting good switches of play and we needed some penetration and an outlet.
“It’s not an easy one to take off a good footballer and a good man in Bayo. I fully understand he wasn’t happy and I have taken him aside and said it wasn’t something I liked doing but they were getting through us too easy.
“Westy went wide on the left and we put in another central midfielder and we stopped them playing through us so I think it was the right decision.
“It was nothing to do with poor performance.”
Finally Martin revealed why Cody McDonald and Callum Davies were not named in the match squad.
He said: “Cody McDonald was in our team for two days but an hour before kick-off he had a tummy bug.
“He pulled out and he’s looked really sharp in training and was ready to start – we had to change the team.
“Callum is fine, I had a good chat with him in the week and he played in the Kent Cup and did very well and he feels he would like to go out on loan and play some first team football.
“I fully understand and at times it must be frustrating for him because he’s a good player and he will probably go out on loan early in the week.
and Devante McKain played particularly well so with Callum going out I thought it was a good stage to introduce someone else to the team and the environment.reserves play Erith“I watched the
“We didn’t expect to put him on but we had to. He is quick, strong and getting better technically every day that he trains with the first team squad.
“It was a big call but if you had seen him play the other night you wouldn’t have been worried. I wasn’t worried and we needed a defender so he needed to go in.”
here.Watch Martin’s post match interview following the Crawley game by clicking