Yeovil Town boss, Darren Sarll spoke to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins following the Glovers’ 2-1 defeat at Southend United and said that his side looked ‘fatigued‘ both mentally and physically.
The manager said: “It lacked balance, when I think of the story of the game, when I think of the front four first half in the comparison to the opponent’s front three, that part of the pitch looked so unbalanced.
“We actually playing the system better, then we made the changes with the centre forwards as we had no real route to goal… then we whacked it at goal, for a good 20 minutes, everything was ‘whack, whack’ which shows some mental fatigue and shows some players out of form
“For the last eight minutes of normal time, plus the extra time, there was a bit of balance and we found the time when to pass and when to play into the front, and then I thought we looked a threat.”
Yeovil had a goal ruled out through Max Hunt which Darren Sarll said “maybe” could have been given on another day, but despite the late rally, Southend held on.
The second Southend goal, scored by Tom Clifford has left the gaffer with his biggest headache.
He said: “The biggest disappointment is the second goal, it is like a car crash and that probably does show mental fatigue.
“I don’t want to throw the chaps under the bus, because they’ve been outstanding as we know, but that’s a huge learner.”
Sarll said that the performance in the first 20 minutes was tough to decipher the formation, or the roles of the players and that comes down to him.
“That’s really disappointing as a football coach… I know what they’re trying to do, they’re trying to start a run, trying to get that winning feeling, but that kind of ‘razz’ and that confusion, the chaos in their mind. That leads to silly decisions.”
Reuben Reid‘s late consolation goal wasn’t enough as the Glovers now go four games without a win and will head in to Saturday’s game against Needham Market searching for that winning formula.
Sarll confirmed that he would be reluctant to make too many changes as the Glovers seek progression in the FA Trophy.
“We have to feel winning again, this isn’t ‘participation football’, this isn’t grass roots football, and we have to try and taste winning again, we will give them the rest they need… and we might need to give them a bit longer, we do need to find that footing now.”