Following a difficult evening in Northampton, the Iron fell to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Cobblers.
After the Iron were reduced to ten men in the 36th minute, the hosts followed up a seventh minute opener with a further two goals, taking home all three points.
Talking to iFollow Iron, Paul Hurst reacted to the result post-match.
“I didn’t enjoy the performances from certain people that were on the pitch - and I’m not talking about my players - including some of the gamesmanship that was going off," he said.
“You can say it’s good from certain people’s perspectives, but there’s a lot of talk about ‘image of the game’. There were certain incidents that influenced the game as a spectacle, when you should be honest and fair, which wasn’t happening tonight.
“However, Northampton are doing extremely well, and I wish them well for the rest of the season.”
Kevin van Veen’s dubious red card changed the dynamic of the match, and Hurst described the incident as “very soft”.
“I think Kev is silly to push him in the first place, but I didn’t realise Charlie (Goode) was so light. I was surprised he went to hold his face, he must have a really long face," added the boss.
“From the very short time I knew Charlie (from his time with the Iron), I thought he was a nice lad. Tonight I wouldn’t have been particularly happy with how he conducted himself, but I’m sure he doesn’t care because they’ve won the game and kept a clean sheet.”
On the match itself, the Iron boss assessed his side’s performance. “We went one nil down after an excellent ball in from Nicky Adams, who is a good footballer with a number of assists,” Hurst stated. “He cut back on his weaker foot, and we’d said we have to try and force him out wide pre-match.
“He swapped wings with Hoskins, more often than not he (Adams) plays on the left. Either way we’ve got to force him outside, but we allowed the cross in which was a difficult one to defend.
"Despite the sending off, I thought we looked a threat. I think you’d turned up here and not known how many players were on either side, I don’t think you’d have felt we were a man light. I know towards the end they lost a man (to injury) so it ended up 10 v 10, but prior to that, the lads gave a good account of themselves and I can’t criticise them in terms of effort.
“We were brave and wanted the ball. Looking at Northampton’s home record, it’s excellent, so it was always going to be a difficult task. I’m not going to be too critical realistically, but in certain situations we claim close.
“While Kev was still on he put a great ball in, Lundy (Matthew Lund) was under the crossbar and it somehow doesn’t go in. At the start of the second half, the ball comes at George Miller quick, but you have to take those chances against good teams, especially when they have an extra man.”
In a game involving numerous penalty shouts for both sides, only one was given. Hurst said: “I think certainly one of theirs looked a good possibility, but for us, I didn’t feel like we were going to get many decisions tonight, I’ve got to be honest, definitely not the ones that mattered.
“Maybe little soft ones, but not the main incidents. That’s not sour grapes, that’s what I genuinely felt on the side-line. I didn’t have any faith in what was going on out there.”
The Iron will have the opportunity to appeal the Dutchman’s first half red card, in order to avoid a further suspension.
Hurst had this to say: “I’m pretty sure we will be appealing, yes. If they come back to us saying ‘you can’t push people’, my answer to that would be, every time I see someone push a player, I expect them to be sent off.
“I guarantee 100 per cent that that won’t happen, so we’ll see. There’s no real consistency, but again, I wish Kev had just laughed and used his talent, like he had done in the home fixture. The form he’s been in, I’d like to think he’d have had a good chance tonight to add to his goal tally.
“Unfortunately, he did react and it becomes an incident, but it’s very, very soft.”
If the Iron number ten’s further suspension is upheld, he will join a number of players unavailable for selection in the coming games.
“We’ve got George Miller who is an out-and-out centre forward, but we’re not sure about Lee Novak at the moment, he’s got a chance,” Hurst stated. “His ankle is still sore, he’s a tough lad and will give it a go if he can, but he’s been ill as well.
“He’s just started with antibiotics, he was on the bikes on Monday but struggled with his breathing, which is not something you can play with in professional football. We’ll have to see, but once again it’s about recovery more than anything else.
“Ahead of travelling down to Crawley on Friday, we need to see who we’ve got available, we’ve not got great numbers at the minute with the injuries. We’ve lost both our left backs, our right back, and one of our centre halves is out.
“It’s a difficult period for us, but we’ve got to work with the players that we have, and get on with it.”
On the prospect of any further January additions, the manager isn’t anticipating anything between now and the close of the transfer window.
“I don’t think anyone else will be coming in, never say never but I’m not particularly expecting to bring someone in. I’ve just been told there was at least one club here tonight watching one of our players, I don’t know if there were any others.
“We’ve got to ensure we can stay competitive between now and the end of the season."
See much more from Paul Hurst and James Perch on iFollow Iron.