Maidstone United manager Hakan Hayrettin says his players didn't like hearing the truth after 3-0 National League defeat at Bromley
07:46, 18 September 2022
updated: 15:41, 18 September 2022
Hakan Hayrettin accused his Maidstone side of not liking the truth after their defeat at Bromley.
Hayrettin kept the players in the dressing room for the best part of an hour following a 3-0 loss at Hayes Lane.
He had plenty to get off his chest, questioning their work-rate off the ball and the defending for Bromley’s goals.
The Stones boss, encouraged by Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Wealdstone, named an unchanged XI. While it was the same names out there, the performance didn’t match what Hayrettin had seen four days earlier.
“We take one step forward, two steps back,” he said. “Ultimately, I believe it’s when we’ve not got the ball, we’re not working hard.
“You’ve got to stop the ball coming in the box, win your headers, win your phases.
“When we’ve got the ball we look all right but you’ve got to work when you’ve not got the ball.
“My honesty doesn’t really bode too well because they don’t like me telling them the truth, and I need to tell them the truth.
“Against Wealdstone, we worked absolutely 100% very, very hard and we deserved to win, but we got a point.
“Today, you defend like that, you’re never going to win.
“I had stuff to say after the game.
“I need to know why they can go from Tuesday and putting in a performance like that to coming here and capitulating.
“It’s because we’re not working hard enough when we haven’t got the ball.
“It can’t be perfect for them all the time, you’ve got to roll your sleeves up sometimes and swing till you come out the other end, and we’re not doing that.
“That element of our game is a bit tender and it needs to be toughened up. That’s the problem.
“It’s not all doom and gloom but, me being me, I want to win every game.
“I kick every ball and head every ball and, when I see the ball coming into our box unopposed, I’m not happy. No one would be.
“It’s going to be tougher because we’re up a league.
“I’ve put my faith in these players but we’ve got to defend properly.
“You’re not going to defend to the best of your ability every time but we cannot let balls keep coming into our box unopposed and saying we need to deal with it.
“You’ve got to stop it at source sometimes and we aren’t doing that.”
Omar Sowunmi met a corner and Andy Marriott finished a cross as Bromley led 2-0 at half-time. Marriott pounced again just after the break, burying the loose ball after Corey Whitely’s shot was parried.
“Seventy-five per cent of goals at this level are scored in the six-yard box and today they’ve scored all three in the six-yard box,” said Hayrettin, whose side have dropped to 15th in the National League.
“This league is no different now to what it was two years ago or five years ago.
“There may be a bit more quality but it’s still the same league.
“When we had the ball, we looked decent but I told them on Friday this game would be won in the six-yard-box, in both boxes.
“They’ve scored three in the six-yard box and, at the other end, they’ve but bodies in front of the ball two or three times. We didn’t do that, and that’s the difference.
“They’re a big side but that’s irrelevant - the ball’s on the floor when they stopped us.”
