Bradley Dack admitted that Gillingham were outfought in their 3-0 defeat to Oldham Athletic at the MEMS Priestfield Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The former academy graduate was disappointed with the team's work off the ball, especially during the opening 20 minutes, which proved costly. He also understood the frustrations from the supporters, as he knows that the team are better than what they showed.
Dack discussed the confidence within the camp and conceded it is low following the game. However, he will be doing his best to pick up his teammates by doing his part on and off the pitch.
With a free week ahead, the midfielder knows that it will be a busy time at the training ground and behind the scenes, as players take accountability and look to rectify what went wrong in the game.
On the defeat...
It was a tough day. We didn't start the game well, two set pieces again that we conceded, and we probably didn't do quite enough in the second-half to warrant getting back into the game. We had chances, and I had a couple in the first-half that I probably should have done better with. I think that if we had maybe got the first a bit earlier, then we may have had more of a go at it, but it was really difficult.
The fans have every right to have their opinion. I don't blame them for having that at half-time and full-time because we are a better team than what we showed out there today. It is a bit of a tough run of form, and it is a difficult time.
We didn't start well. We were meant to be on the front foot, but we didn't close people down. We didn't win first balls, and we didn't win second balls, which is not good enough, especially at this club. Obviously, I have known the club for a long time, and I have been at the club for a long time.
I know what the fans expect of you, and they expect a lot off the ball. You can have bad games with the ball, that happens in football, but you should never have a bad game without.
I think that for the first 20 minutes, that was the glaring thing for me. We weren't pressing as a unit, we didn't win enough tackles, we didn't battle enough, and it felt like they outfought us, which is a difficult thing to say as a Gills player, because that is what the club is built on, and that is the mentality that the fans have. You might lose football matches, that happens, but you should never be outfought by the opposition, and that is what happened today.
Rebuilding the confidence within the team...
Confidence is a massive, massive part of football. Confidence and momentum. At the minute, we are definitely on a low. I think that you can see that in the players, but confidence comes from within. You have to be brave and courageous, and you have to take the ball in situations where you might not want it. That is how you build confidence again, by doing the basics well and doing the right things.
That is what I will be telling the players in the week. Listen, you have to carry on being brave, because that is how you get out of a lack of confidence. Getting those first passes right in the first part of the game, getting your tackles right and winning your headers. All of those little things help build confidence and breed confidence. Hopefully, I can lead by doing my fair share and showing how it's done. You can tell that there is a bit of a lack of confidence in some of the players, and it is hard.
Looking inward and moving forward...
We are a group of players that have to look at themselves in the mirror. What can I improve? What can I do better to help this team move forward? We are in a difficult spot, but that's the only way that we can get out of it, by taking accountability of yourself. That's the first thing that I will be doing when I get home. I will watch the game back. What can I have done better? What can I do more of? How can I improve? Hopefully, everyone else is doing that.
That is the way that you get out of bad situations like this. You have to fight for each other and have to stick together. There is no point in arguing with each other for the wrong reasons. I am all for watching the game back, which I am sure we will do next week, watching things back where we have to be better and have to improve. That comes from the training ground, and like we said, that comes from within.
