Sports Update 1 month ago ⏱️ 3 min read

Reaction from Mark Robins and Alex Neil

Reaction from Mark Robins and Alex Neil
Stoke City 1 Millwall 3 live - Reaction from Mark Robins and Alex Neil Stoke-on-Trent LiveStoke City 1-3 Millwall: Lions seal play-off spot and go second BBCStoke City 1-3 Millwall: Lions climb to second in Championship after victory Sky SportsPreview | Stoke City v Millwall Millwall FCMillwall seal play-offs with Stoke win as Neil says ‘it’s been a dream season’ Southwark News

Robins: "It was more than disappointing wasn't it. You talk about a game that requires grit and determination and the ability to win headers and duels and use the ball and run, this is one of them. I'm sick of teams that come here and look really ordinary and trake the points. This is a team that is going for automatic promotion and it gives me loads of food for thought. It's not really anything I don't know but it's been poor for a while. Summer can't come soon enough that's for sure.

"There have been some good performances. For positives, we've got to talk about the two youngsters. Even thought there was a mistake from Pijus, apart from that and really the experience around him has to take that pressure away. You don't have to give it to Seko and Seko doesn't have to give it him back - then Pijus just has to move it to the side or higher up the pitch. He's tried to split the two defenders and they've stepped through and it's ended up in the back of the net.

"That was on the back of Gavin making a mistake from a shot from 25 yards. Gavin's seen it and tried to parry it across his body and missed it.

"At 2-0, it wasn't great anyway, but to try to get something out of the game we started to get bodies higher up the field and move it higher up the field in a way we don't normally. We normally try to build with a pattern but that pattern hasn't worked. The players have to make it work.

"If you get tight in a game you can't then go out of the game. You can't not give us anything. You can't decide not to run. There are too many at the moment who are choosing not to give everything. There is only one way - there is only one way and I've got plenty to do, that's for sure, on the back of not just tonight but games against a physical side who make it really difficult for you. And that is a lot of the time when those players are better than you in the physical department and we have no response to it. We've got to be better in that department alone, never mind the other side of it.

"We didn't create enough again. Baker's shot in the first half was the only chance we had. At least in the second we caused a few problems in terms of shots, crosses into the box, chances created. All of a sudden the crowd is with you. We get the goal back for 2-1 and Lamine has two other chances just by putting the ball down the side of defenders and running.

"Then, inexplicable. There's two really poor goals in there. Let's face it they had a few other good chances in the first half, the striker should have buried one, and they've had too many shots when they run off the back of Eric down in that channel and when we've not been able to get the press right.

"There are reasons for it but it was not good enough so you have to change things and the way you go about it. At least we had a few shots on goal, the two kids can be proud of their performances and they didn't really put a foot wrong other than the one pass. I can't be critical of that."

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