Hill post-Harrogate (H)

First team manager Keith Hill provided his reaction to iFollow Iron after the Iron were beaten 3-0 at home by Harrogate Town on Saturday.

Hill said: "I'm frustrated and disappointed again for the players and the supporters. You have to look into the minds of the players when the second goal goes in. It deflates the players, the confidence levels drop below zero, while the confidence of the opponents goes as high as 100.

"That's indicative of what we've done. I do believe it was a foul for the first goal, The player has run directly at him and taken him (Rory Watson) out of the equation.

"In the first-half performance, with the way we played, we were quite clean and attacked well with three really good opportunities, and one-on-ones, where if we scored we may have gone on and won the game but it's ifs, buts and maybes.

"After the second goal, it looked like the players had lost all pitch geography, confidence and it was 'here we go again.'. It's really hard and I've said to the players I hope the lessons we're learning now in terms of how hard it is are responded to. I'm looking for them to learn from these experiences where it's going against you and you're not playing well, low on confidence and bottom of the league, and use it as a stimulus for next season's success.

"I said to the players there is something to be gained over the last seven games, irrespective of results. The likes of Harry Lewis, Harvey Cribb and Jai Rowe have got to learn from the experiences.

"We want all the players to respond positively to the scenario that we're in, but it's difficult because every time we receive one of those low blows, whether it's a goal conceded through a mistake, it does dent the confidence and affect performances individually. It's amazing how that stimulus of winning a football match or doing things well raises the confidence and gets your team-mates to support you in difficult situations and circumstances.

"In the second-half, the performance disappeared like it has so often this season."

He added: "It's hard for us, we're Scunthorpe and should have pride, but that shouldn't come to internal turmoil where it's chaotic. We're trying to come through this bad situation we find ourselves in, stronger as a result, and more resilient for the future.

"As a club/family, I'm really asking everyone to stick together and support the players. It is hard, trust me, it's tough for the players. There are good players in our personnel but they're not anywhere near 50-60 per cent full of confidence, which is a massive element in the game.

"We have to try to encourage them, irrespective of the result, and look at the small margins and big plusses with respective to positives in performances, and try to carry that positive view and the learnings of this season into next season."

See much more from Keith Hill and Tyrese Sinclair on iFollow Iron.