Gillingham 0 Walsall 1

GILLINGHAM boss Ronnie Jepson admitted that too many of his players had an off day in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to already relegated Walsall.

Jepson was forced to make changes to his starting line-up for the first time in weeks, with Sean Clohessy and Leon Johnson drafted into action, while Chris Hope replaced the injured Ian Cox at half-time.

The Gills manager said: "I’m disappointed for the lads as I think they deserved a good send-off.

"I have really pushed them hard in the last few weeks, especially on the training ground, and maybe we hit a bit of a brick wall.

"It is a shame as they wanted it as much as I wanted to go out on a high at home."

Jepson admitted that his team struggled to get the ball down and play it around like they had been doing recently.

He said: "There were too many who had off days today. We lacked a bit of movement and a bit of thought."

He added: "It was a shame that I couldn’t field a similar team to the one I have been of late. We work a lot on shapes and balances. We missed Danny Jackman, as he gives us a nice balance with his left leg.

"I’m disappointed on the day but overall if you take a step back and look at how the boys have done, they deserve a lot of credit."

He was full of praise for the hard work and spirit shown by his players over recent weeks, which had enabled the club to comfortably climb out of League 1 relegation trouble.

Jepson said: "The lads have stuck with me and taken on board what I’ve said.

"They have worked extremely hard and maybe it was just one game too much for them.

"They have worked as a unit and have been fantastic and I can’t give them anymore credit than I’ve given them."

Gillingham face a trip to Blackpool in the final game of the season on Saturday.