The pressure got to some of Gillingham’s players on Tuesday, admitted their manager Gareth Ainsworth.
Gillingham were beaten 5-1 at home by MK Dons and fans made it clear they weren’t happy, booing the side off at the break and letting them know their feelings throughout a difficult night at Priestfield.
The Gills boss has said that watching some of his players struggle under that kind of atmosphere was tough but he hopes it will do them good in the long run.
“It was a little bit tough watching at times, so I understand the fans’ frustration,” said Ainsworth, who came under fire himself.
“I’ll take it. I’m tough. I’ve got thick skin as a manager. I always should have but some of the players don’t, so please get behind them. Please support them and push them to be the best that they can be because that’s the way we’ll get out of this.
“They’ll get better by experiencing the pressure and the toughness. They’ll come through that, and once they come through it, they go one of two ways. Either they crumble and don’t want to be out there again, or they’ll handle it.
“You can’t go through your career without having pressure and those moments will be good for some of the players.”
It’s not the first time the Gills team have come under fire this season and it’s not a surprise. A campaign that started with such promise has followed a similar pattern to recent years where they’ve fallen away from the chasing pack.
For some fans, they’ve run out of patience.
Since the turn of the year, the Gills have been thumped at home by Bromley and also seen mid-table Oldham beat them 3-0 at Priestfield. A poor game against lowly Fleetwood last Saturday ended in a 1-1 draw and on Tuesday MK Dons led 3-0 inside 33 minutes.
Ainsworth said: “I think some [players] get a bit nervous and crumble and don’t want to make mistakes and try and narrow off and become very insular.
“You can’t do that as a footballer. You’ve got to embrace it and go, ‘Okay, I know I’ve made a mistake, but give me the ball again because I’m going to make the next thing count’. That’s how I want my players to react.
“Fans can do what they want. They’ve got every right to moan. They’ve got every right to cheer. They pay the money.
“The players have got to understand fans come to games and they’ll give you stick. They’ll give you praise. They’ll give you nothing. It’s all part of being a professional footballer.
“But I understand the fans. Of course, it’s frustrating. It’s their team. We’ve just been beaten 5-1 at home.
“It’s not acceptable. There’s reasons. There’s things we can work on. But still, it’s a 5-1 defeat at home. I take as much accountability as the players.
“We’ve just got to go again and find a way to get a result, find a way to scrap, and not let the outside influences affect us, because pressure does come to people.
“I think we saw at the end [of the game] there was a couple going under people’s feet, and there was a bit of nervousness about it, and I understand that.
“But to be a professional footballer, unfortunately, you’ve got to play in front of fans. They demand, they pay their money to come in, and I understand that as well.
“The ball was going under people’s feet and [they were] losing control of the ball. These are fundamentals. As a professional footballer, you’ve got to be able to do [it] when there is a bit of pressure.”
At 5-1 down, some fans were singing “we want six” and Ainsworth said: “It doesn’t help. I don’t know what singing ‘we want six goals’ is about.
“I support these boys, but it’s tough. I’ll take the stick, because I know what I can do, and I know there’s a whole plan to do this, but this club has gone far too many years doing the same thing, and it needs to change.”
