How do you sum up your emotions after that one, Nige?
I’d prefer if that was whiskey. I think today we played pretty well. We could’ve managed the ball a little bit better in the second half, but we defended with a lot of commitment. Bit of a travesty for us to come away with nothing but that’s the nature of football I’m afraid.
What did you make of the penalty decision?
Probably best for me to not say too much, have you seen it?
Yeah, I’ve seen it.
There you go.
Have you seen it?
Of course, I have, I also made sure I had a look at the one after that where Rob Atkinson gets pulled to the ground. It’s not pleasant viewing let’s put it like that. I know people are going to say ‘you conceded another late goal’ but the pivotal moment there was the penalty and we’re just very unlucky with their winner a deflection like that doesn’t give you a chance.
It’s not necessarily poor defending although we could’ve locked the edge of the box out more. It’s an unfortunate deflection but I’m afraid the penalty is not good to view.
In your mind the Atkinson one is a penalty at the other end?
In my mind? Just look at it, just look at it. We know there’s going to be a little bit more contacts allowed but the lad who’s marking him is the wrong side of him, has his hands round his waist and has no intention of attacking the ball.
It comes down to the same debate about quality of refereeing again?
No, I’ve said what I’ve said you asked me about the penalty, and I've answered that I have no intention of giving people the opportunity to have a go at me. It’s just very frustrating and well done to them. I’ve got no axe to grind about that.
What did you like about the performance on the whole?
I thought we passed the ball really well in the first half, created some good attacking options down both flanks, some of our runs in behind were really good, our build-up play was really good, we didn’t look in too much danger.
Even at the end where they had a bit of pressure we were very, very committed with how we defended. There’s lots of things which I liked about our performance we just didn’t have the clinical edge to our passing in the second half. It’s disappointing for the players and the fans who have made a really long journey to get here, because I think they’ve seen a decent performance in many ways but we’re talking about the wrong things again and that’s the problem.
What have you said to the players?
Just similar type of stuff to what I've said to you, really.
What was the feeling in playing Zak Vyner today ahead of Timm Klose?
Because he’s a more natural right-sided player and Zak’s done well in pre-season. I can’t talk in terms of saying everyone has a chance to impress and if they do, they can't play and then not be as good as my word. Timm’s probably not been at his best in pre-season, but I’ve got no worries about Timm coming in and doing really well so it’s just one of those things.
Mark Sykes adding to competition at wing-back...
I thought he was excellent in the first half.
How pleased are you with how he’s adapted?
He’s a quick learner. The last touch of the game at Plymouth he was playing at wing-back and they played a diagonal and the runner got inside of him. The same happened at Bournemouth last week and he learnt, and the player didn’t get there. So, he’s a quick learner, he’s a good footballer and I think he’s made a very good debut today.”
Did the trouble getting here have any impact today?
No, not at all. It’s something that happens we had a problem with the team coach, so we had to make our own way here. But it didn’t make any difference to the players, they were in a very good mood and it’s just something you have to take in your stride.
You can’t let logistical problems which you have no control of. There’s no point making them into an issue, we just got on with it. I think testament to that would be how we started the game we were very good.
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