Salford City head coach Karl Robinson has made it clear that he is proud of his team’s efforts during an extremely demanding promotion battle after the Ammies shared the spoils in a 0-0 draw with Gillingham on Saturday afternoon
The former MK Dons boss said post-match that he will “stay positive” and “stay behind my players” as the club hurtle towards the end of a thrilling season of action with three games to go.
With a maximum of nine possible points still to play for, Salford sit comfortably inside the play-off places, and are still within three points’ reach of an automatic promotion spot, currently held by Cambridge United, with Notts County and Swindon both separating the Ammies from the position.
It was a frustrating day for the Ammies, with not much attacking threat at either end of the pitch, aside from a bundle of late opportunities for Jorge Grant, substitute Fabio Borini and Rosaire Longelo.
The stalemate draw represents a missed opportunity in Salford’s quest for League One football, with close rivals Cambridge taking a commanding lead following their impressive drubbing over Notts County.
The Salford boss had this to say reflecting on the result: “These [players] give me everything, every single week, we’re drawing every ounce of quality out of them, every ounce of energy, the fans today, what a fantastic attendance for a football club like ourselves who are forever grrowing, and I just wish we could’ve scored late on.
“They didn’t have a shot on target all game, and I think that says what team was trying to win it.
“I thought we were good in every aspect, if I had a critique, I’d say we weren’t ruthless enough early on. Territorially, we asked multiple questions of them, I just felt with our final ball we were wasteful too often.
Despite dropping a disappointing two points at home to Gillingham, Salford remain in contention, and with their next test coming in the form of a local derby, in their visit to Boundary Park to take on Oldham Athletic, Karl Robinson remains affectionate for the effort his team have shown to still be involved at this stage of the season.
He said: “74 points with 9 to play for, with the injuries that we’ve had, with the cup run that we’ve had, I don’t think anybody can really question what my players have gone through this season, and I’m immensely proud of them.
“It’s a wonderful time of the year, a time of year where the pressure on people becomes a privilege.
“If you want to play this game without being involved in end-of-the-season moments then you’re in the wrong industry.”
Robinson additionally went on to suggest the return of some vital figures in the squad if the Ammies were to settle for the playoff route.
“There are players who aren’t going to be back just yet, we’ve still got to wait a week or two before the Kallum’s [Cesay] and the Kelly’s [N’Mai] are back. We’ll be asking questions over Woody [Ben Woodburn] if the season continues. They’ll all be back if the season continues.
Salford City look to make up more ground on those ahead of them in the top six with a trip to local rivals Oldham Athletic next Saturday at 3pm.
