The Shouting Men column with Gillingham defender Barry Fuller
00:00, 08 March 2019
It was sickening to concede so late against Fleetwood on Saturday.
We felt like we’d ground out a good away result in tough conditions against a side that have been doing really well lately.
When the free-kick goes in you just feel like you want to drop to the floor.
You work all that time and to concede in the 91st minute, from a set-piece that’s gone all the way into the far corner, it’s gutting.
Other than that, I don’t think they looked like scoring. We were solid as a whole team.
It was disappointing to concede the way we did but in the end it’s a good point.
Before the game you probably would have taken a point, but at 1-0 up in the 91st minute it feels like a loss when you go in the dressing room.
We had a meeting in-house with the gaffer before the Scunthorpe game and we said no matter how they come, if we can grind out 1-0 victories home or away, we’ll take that.
It doesn’t matter if the performances aren’t the best at this stage of the season – it’s all about results.
The two wins we have had lately have been one-nils and we’d have taken another at Fleetwood but it wasn’t to be.
Joey Barton’s done a decent job at Fleetwood in his first season as a manager.
They’re still pushing for the play-offs and knowing how he was as a player, I’m pretty sure he demands a lot from his players on the training ground.
It’s his first job in management and he’s not done too bad.
It’s a big step forward going from player to manager. You never know what it’s going to be like but I’m pretty sure over the season he’ll be pleased with how it’s gone, especially if he can push them into the play-offs.
It’s an ambition of mine to be a manager when I retire.
I’ve been coaching now for six or seven years, before I even had my academy.
I really enjoy it and it’s something that builds a platform for you after football.
Even if you don’t want to be a manager, you can always be a coach somewhere.
That was the route I always wanted to go down.
I want to stay in the football environment where you get that buzz from being in it on a day-to-day basis.
Every player I’ve spoken to that becomes a manager has missed that dressing room banter.
But if you’ve got that philosophy where you can be that man-manager in and around the dressing room and on the training ground, you can probably still have that banter, but there’s a line that when it’s work time, it’s work time.
That’s the philosophy I’d like to say I’d take into management/coaching when I start to do that.
You’ve got to have that barrier where I’m the boss, I can have a laugh and joke with you, but when it’s work time, it’s work time.
n I’ve played a lot of games this season but I said to the gaffer when I signed I’ll fight for my place and when I get my place, I’m the type of player who will give everything to keep my shirt.
If I’m honest, from the club’s point of view, I’ve played a lot more than they expected me to but I’ve loved every minute.
No matter what happened this season, I’d have fought for my place and if it wasn’t to be, I’d have been in the dressing room rallying the boys.
I didn’t want to end my career sitting around and being an experienced player that’s not going to play.
I knew I had to fight for my place and this season I’ve played a lot more games than people probably expected me to play.
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