Boro Player spoke to Gary Smith after Saturday’s defeat at home to Leyton Orient and he was clearly disappointed not to secure anything from a fixture that Boro dominated for large periods.
Smith was honest in his assessment of the side, saying that he felt the break over the last few weeks led to signs of rustiness in his players. He said “I thought it was a very edgy and tentative start, we have had three weeks off and I think you saw signs of a group of players that hadn’t played for a while which I was certainly hoping wouldn’t happen. A goal in ten minutes, a sloppy goal from our point of view, gives them a lift and makes our life that much more difficult, there was a good response but not enough cutting edge in front of their goal. There were some exciting moments but we certainly looked like we had a bit of a lay off and it’s not good enough really.”
Stevenage showed good possession throughout but failed to turn it into an onslaught on the Orient goal and were guilty of not making the most of the time they had on the ball. The Boro manager clearly wanted more from his side, especially after going in behind at the break.
“It didn’t take off, we were expecting to regroup and get a bit of direction again. To really come out of the traps and get after it in the second period and that didn’t happen. I don’t know whether it was because the pitch was in a difficult shape; it certainly got more and more difficult to move the ball but also when we got into more exciting areas the choices weren’t good enough and the quality wasn’t up to scratch. I think you’ve seen players that we usually rely on not reach their usual standards, hence a very lacklustre second half.”
He continued that he expected to see his side show “more cutting edge” and “more importantly get ourselves in it, and go on and win it” but he conceded “that didn’t happen, I think the guys are fully aware of that”.
To see the full interview, including Smith’s thoughts on the subs brought into the game and the task the side face at home to Notts County on Tuesday evening, login to your Boro Player account now!