Buckley Lambasts Players

By: Rob Sedgwick
Date: 18/08/2008

ALAN Buckley's blasted his side's defensive performance after the 4-0 defeat at Brentford on Saturday, describing it as embarrassing and "bitterly disappointing". Buckley has identified a problem with his team as early as the pre-match warm up, but still was unable to address it.

"Our warm-up is thought about a lot and we pretty much do the same sort of stuff before a game", said Buckley. "I walked out at about 2.40pm and watched the warm-up and within two minutes I had marched across the pitch, called the players together and said 'If this is what I am going to see this afternoon, we might as well get on that coach and get off home now, so I'm warning you, even this warm-up isn't good enough'."

Grimsby's first half performance was dire, with three self-inflicted goals conceded effectively ending the game at half time/

"Three-nil down at half-time was an embarrassment" said Buckley. "We have let a lad run across us from the first goal, and then we proceeded to invite two of their players to put the ball in the back of our net through absolutely crazy decisions as individuals.

"For the second goal, we had an opportunity to clear it twice and we didn't. The ball ended up on the left wing and their lad scooped a ball towards well past the back post and Barnsey took it upon himself to chase it. He never got anywhere near it, the lad rolls it into the middle and the ball is our net.

"Keeping it at 2-0 at half-time, as poor as we were, would have been something. But then, there was an innocuous-looking ball that was going towards Ryan (Bennett) and Barnes and the far post, and we needed a decision just to clear it, not be fancy. Ryan didn't do anything with it, Barnsey didn't do anything with it, and we have invited their lad to sneak in round the back and tap it in our net.

Town were little better after the break and soon found themselves four down.

"After that, it was damage limitation. And yet, the first time they attacked us in the second half, they ball ended up in our net as well," said the Town boss.

So Town will need to go back to the drawing board for the visit of Chesterfield and Jack Lester on Saturday.

"We need to look ourselves. They do and I do."

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