Rotherham United Manager Paul Warne said his team found it ‘difficult to break MK Dons down’ after their two-one home loss this afternoon.
Speaking to Radio Sheffield the Millers Boss said, ‘I thought we were OK in the first half. The penalty and sending-off was the right decision then we created some more half chances. Then they scored off a set piece when we didn’t clear the goal area quick enough and then they got another goal. And we didn’t create enough in the second half to take anything out of the game.
‘I thought we played with too much fear. We didn’t move the ball quick enough and that enabled ten players to get behind the ball. We didn’t switch the ball quick enough.
And I agree. But, to be honest, I’ve been thinking that we’ve looked frightened to lose since we lost at Fleetwood. And some of our play was slow and when we needed to get it forward we passed back – which wasn’t like us in the first half of the season.
‘There’s no drama,’ the Millers Boss carried on, ‘but we have to discuss where we think it went wrong against a good MK side. But we aren’t going to walk the next eleven games and high-five everyone on the way and we will be handed the promotion. It’s not going to be like that.
‘The loss today is a psychological blow and our job is to pick them up and show them what they’re good at and what we need to improve on and try and put it right although there are no guarantees in that. But, if you’d offered me this league table in June then I would one hundred per cent took it. It’s not a disaster but it would have been nicer to go to bed tonight after a win.’
On the injury front it looks like Freddie Ladapo could be out for two or three weeks after going off in the game today.
You know this might be a wake up call for some of the players. As I said I don’t think we’ve played well since mid-January although until the last four or so games I thought we’ve had the energy and the movement. But today – and on Tuesday night – there were too many balls not reaching the intended player, too much side ways passing, too many times the opposition have been able to take the ball off us. And, in my opinion, we looked tired today, definitely not at the races.
Let’s hope that will change for the visit to Wycombe next weekend although, of course, there’s the Papa John’s Trophy game to get through.
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This loss has been coming!! We’ve not been scoring when the chances have come. Teams have figured out our style and our press has been ineffective or non existent with a boot it anywhere adopted at times. We haven’t used wing backs to cross I to the box enough and when Woody doesn’t play our defence collapses. Luckily we have been saved by great goal keeping recently. It’s time to give Kelly a chance and to see if his direct approach can get goals. We need to give a chance to our young guns Hull Cooper etc who have plenty of energy and the desire to win. I don’t know why we shut out Curtis Tilt he would have done ok in our defence but never got a chance. Sadlier is another loss to us but it seems he too wasn’t good enough. Our reliance on Smithy to hold the ball up is predictable. Theres no doubt the loss of Griggs is being felt but we need to adapt and change the format. I sincerely hope that the view of Wembley isn’t clouding our vision as that’s a day out whereas a promotion brings with it a season full of days out. Come on Warney introduce the quickest fittest irrespective of age or origin. Look at Wilder who added a 19 yes old who won the game for him. UTM.
I have to agree Bryan that it has been coming. Hopefully this might be a message to the players that we can – and will – lose games. Yesterday, I think, when they went down to ten we probably thought it might be easy – it was never going to be that. Maybe if it had been a sending off in the final fifteen minutes of so it might have been different? I’m all for putting the youngsters in and, like you, I hope we aren’t ‘saving ourselves’ for Wembley, that’s if we get there of course, because I don’t expect Hartlepool to be a push over either.