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d frusabout bank up and survive and we knew they would wait for that one opportunity which they had done in previous games and that’s exactly what they did.
“They painted their own picture and we allowed them to do that so that was a real frustration. We have debriefed it, spoken about it, had some honest conversations and we have to move on.”
Asked why some players weren’t playing with more freedom, with 16-year-old Chris Rigg an exception, he said. “It’s not an age thing, it’s a mentality thing.
“You can be 30-plus years old and have a psychological block when you need a player to take a risk and pass forward quicker or risk turning the ball over.
“Chris is a really good example in terms of his mentality.
“That was one of the things we spoke about, taking a few more risks in possession and we spoke so much about their [Millwall’s] threat in transition it became sort of a negative in the game because we became risk averse. We thought ‘passes would be cut out and that’s what they survive on.’
“That being said, that’s just being a good player. I think the best players at the highest level make the right decisions nine times out of 10 and that’s what this group has to realise and that’s part of my responsibility. To continue to coach them and work with them because if they don’t come over that hill, or that hurdle, they won’t get to where they want to get to and ultimately where we want to get to as a club.”