Chris Agutter admitted his side were second best as they fell to defeat against Southend United, praising the visitors’ quality while remaining honest about his team’s performance.
Second half goals from Slavi Spasov and Gus Scott-Morriss (2) secured a 3-0 win for the Shrimpers, with the boss saying he felt the result highlighted the level his side must reach moving forward, admitting his side struggled from the outset, particularly in the first half, with the scoreline at the break masking the true balance of play.
“I think Southend were the better side,” he said. “In every department really. So credit to them. I’ll always be honest and protect the players because they’ve done a good job for us, but today they were just better.”
“It’s a real insight into the level required. After games like Rochdale, you feel you’re not far away, but today it felt like there was a gap.”
“They had a lot of chances and we couldn’t really get out. We went in at half-time at 0-0, but it didn’t feel like a 0-0 game.”
“I don’t think it was down to brilliant defending. I think they probably missed a few chances. My gut feeling is they left a couple of goals out there.”
“The decision-making was really poor. We didn’t move the ball forward quickly enough and ended up getting trapped in our own box, which is the last place you want to be.”
At the interval, he knew changes were needed to alter the flow of the game, with Davide Rodari being replaced by Jayden Harris, while academy players James Fennelow, Dan Urpens and Ronny Ruiz all got the opportunity to enter the fray through the second half.
The Head Coach was encouraged by the contribution of the younger players who featured during the match and believes those players can continue to play a role, even if they are still developing, though he also suggested that circumstances have made consistency difficult in recent matches.
“We had to change something,” he said. “If we carried on like that, we’d have been on the wrong end of the result anyway.”
“We’ve had to adapt and deal with changes. It’s an opportunity for others to step in, but performances like today show there’s still work to do.”
“The academy lads have been brilliant, their contribution has been invaluable and they’ve stepped up when needed.”
“They’re ready to contribute, maybe not consistently for 90 minutes every week, but they can certainly help the team.”
He went on to provide a fitness update, with a host of players becoming unavailable due to injury or unseen circumstances which have forced his hand as a result.
“Brandon [Njoku]’s injured, Dubem Eze is injured, Jamz [Jermaine Francis] is unavailable at the minute, Charlie Bell is suspended, Kai Jennings and Osman Foyo went back [to Wimbledon], so we had to make changes because the team that went to Eastleigh and put three points on the board has been ripped apart.”
“Danny Cashman is injured, he’s come to us from Crawley and he’s not fully fit, he pulled up in training at the beginning of the week so he’s not really fit enough to be on the bench but because of the amount of injuries and suspensions on the bench – we had five academy players on the bench.”
“It’s just where we’re at, but it’s an opportunity for others to stake a claim for a Sutton United shirt longer-term”
Looking ahead, he made it clear there will be no complacency as the season draws to a close, with Agutter reiterating his ambition to build something stronger in the long term. He also stressed the importance of finishing the campaign on a positive note, and closed by underlining his side’s intent for the remaining fixtures.
“There’s no relaxing, I hate being around this part of the table. I want us pushing higher and competing at the right end.”
“We’ve taken steps in the right direction, but it’s pointless if we don’t kick on. We want to build something successful and move this club forward.”
“Days like today show there’s a lot to do. We know where we need to improve and we’ll work incredibly hard to make that happen.”
“The supporters deserve a strong finish, the players do as well, because they’ve worked hard to get us into this position.”
“We’ll go into every game looking to win. We want to be on the front foot and keep building momentum. That’s the standard we’re aiming for.”
