Warne takes the blame for first-half disaster-show against Grimsby
The MK Dons head coach reflected on his side’s 3-2 defeat to Grimsby Town
It was a career low-point for Paul Warne after seeing Jon Mellish sent off and his side 3-0 down after just 36 minutes against Grimsby Town on Saturday.
Playing a modified 4-4-2 system for the first time, a frankly dismal opening half at Stadium MK put paid to any chances of Dons bouncing back from their first league defeat of the season last weekend against Walsall thanks to goals from Kieran Green, Jaze Kabia and a Charles Vernam screamer, putting Grimsby firmly in control.
Mellish, making only his second appearance for the side since joining on loan from Wigan Athletic, was then shown a straight red card for a high foot on Kabia, compounding the misery for Dons and Warne in the dugout.
While the hosts mounted a valiant comeback to put themselves in contention, courtesy of a George McEachran own-goal and a late Conor Lemonheigh-Evans strike, the first-half capitulation would be their undoing, and a moment of reflection for Warne.
“It was one of the lowest moments of my managerial career standing there at 3-0 down with a player coming off before half-time,” he said. “I have to own the first-half. I went 4-4-2, I thought if our two centre-forwards put pressure on their centre-halves we might be able to stop them. We’ve worked on that all week, so that’s on me. Grimsby thoroughly deserved the lead at half-time.
“The shape was an issue but none of the goals came from the shape, but from missed tackles, not stopping crosses or people coming inside. What could go wrong did go wrong in the first-half.”
Dons looked a much better side after the break, though Grimsby had the game effectively wrapped up already and barely had to break sweat until stoppage time when the arrears was reduced to one.
Rather than reading his side the riot act though, Warne said the half-time team-talk was a more measured affair.
He said: “We weren’t throwing bottles or anything at half-time, we were calm and told them they cannot perform like that, they had to show integrity and effort.
“In the second-half, although we were a man down, it is very difficult to criticise anything any player did. The work ethic was there, the tackles were there, there was more aggression, we weren’t trying to be too intricate in the final third and we had more of a goal threat.
“I leave knowing we have the players to perform, but if we perform below our level, you just won’t win in this league. We let everyone down in the first 45 minutes.”