Bradford City 1 - 0 Gillingham

GILLINGHAM manager Neale Cooper bemoaned his side’s inability to score following Saturday’s shattering defeat at Bradford.

His shot-shy strugglers were made to pay once more, after failing to produce the goods in the final third, losing to an 88th minute strike.

Cooper’s side, who sit second bottom with the division’s worst scoring record, again looked inept up front, with the Gills boss desperate to see the return of top-scorer Darren Byfield.

Cooper said: "I’ve never ever missed a player as much as him. Other people have got to take responsibility on their shoulders.

"You’ve got to have the ability to hold the ball up so the midfield can come up and support but we haven’t done that well enough. If people can’t do it then someone else will come in and get a chance to do it."

Byfield is suffering from a nerve problem to his leg, which has kept him out for the last four matches.

Cooper has had a fruitless search for a loan signing to beef up his strike-force, with the Gills only twice netting more than once in a league match.

He said: "You only get a certain time to turn things around. I keep going on about the amount of changes that have gone on but if they can't handle it then somebody else has got to play.

"If that means me contacting all the clubs asking what they can do for us and any kind of deals we can get for loans then I’ll do it."

* READ MORE FROM GILLS BOSS NEALE COOPER, ACTION AND REACTION FROM THE GAME AT BRADFORD, PLUS AN INTERVIEW WITH YOUNGSTER JON WALLIS IN MONDAY'S MEDWAY MESSENGER.