Karl Robinson admitted that Salford City were below par in their 1-0 defeat to Crewe on Easter Monday and warned injury issues may be taking their toll at the end of a long season.
The Ammies’ boss believes it is a “miracle” that Salford are in contention for League Two promotion with at least eight first-team players out of action with injuries.
Josh Austerfield, Jay Bird, Dan Chesters, Tom Edwards, Kadeem Harris, Kallum Cesay, Kelly N’Mai and Michael Rose have all been forced to watch from the sidelines as Salford’s nail-biting pursuit of a top-three finish ramps up.
Salford’s automatic promotion hopes were dealt a big blow at Crewe as Emre Tezgel’s first-half strike condemned Robinson’s side to an underwhelming defeat.
They were fortunate not to have lost by a greater margin as the opponents created the better chances with goalscorer Tezgel and Matus Holicek hitting the woodwork.
Luke Garbutt’s long-range strike in stoppage time was comfortably parried by Crewe goalkeeper Ian Lawlor as Salford’s search for a late equaliser came up short in the Easter sunshine.
Reflecting on the defeat, Robinson stressed the impact injuries have had on the run-in.
He said: “This is not a negative one. We knew we weren’t great today; we knew we missed opportunities. We knew we didn’t defend great, but we gave everything, and we’re certainly going to keep giving everything for the last four games of the year.
“I thought we were a little bit negative in our starting positions. I thought we opened the space between the lines, which gave them opportunities to dominate certain areas of the football pitch.
“Maybe it’s just one game too far. We’re playing the same team time and time again and not being able to rotate in certain areas.
“My players have certainly given everything and the fans who came out today and supported us, we thank you for that. Now it’s the rally cry, we’ve got four cup finals to go.”
Robinson’s side sit three points behind Notts County, who occupy the final automatic promotion place. With an inferior goal difference, they will need to earn four more points than their rivals over the remaining four games to finish in the top three.
“It’s a miracle we’re still in it considering those injuries. But there’s 12 points to play for and we’ll dust ourselves down and go again,” he added.
“My players have given everything, every single one of them, and it was just one of those days. I thought we had chances in the first 15 minutes to hurt Crewe on the transition, and we should have done better with their goal.
“We’ve only lost three times in a long while, but we need to move forward again and be the best version of Salford City in the remaining four games.”
Salford City will aim to bounce back from their defeat at Crewe and close the gap on their promotion rivals when they host Gillingham on Saturday, 11 April, 3pm kick-off.
