Gillingham manager Neil Harris urged his players to apologise to anyone who paid money to travel and watch a “shambles” in the 2-0 defeat at Grimsby.
The Gills suffered a second successive league defeat after first-half goals from Niall Maher and Gavan Holohan put the hosts in full control.
Although his side are still third in the table, Harris was left less than impressed by his side’s performance.
“It was a shambles what the fans had to watch, for them to pay and to travel to come and watch that rubbish,” Harris said.
“Do I apologise on behalf of the group? That’s down to the players to apologise for that. Of course, I’m partly responsible for it.
“We lacked leadership, we lacked aggression, we lacked fight at times in that game and the two goals we gave away were poor.
“League Two is about quality at times, but it is also about fight, desire, attitude and set-plays.
“The goals we conceded are just part of the problem, it was the attitude and desire of the players to compete against a hard-working side.
“Not for me that – the players have been told (in the changing room).”
Grimsby’s clinical display secured a second league win and pushed them up into mid-table.
The opening goal came on 12 minutes when defender Maher glanced home from a corner.
It was 2-0 shortly before the half-hour mark after Danny Rose and Abo Eisa combined to find Holohan, who drilled in a low finish
“We played well and for me there was a lot to like about that performance,” Grimsby manager Paul Hurst said.
“It was the little things defensively for me and out of possession I thought the team worked hard, to get forward as well.
“That was a very good three points against a team that got beat last week, but they won their other games.
“Gillingham are certainly expected to be up there and with the front-two they have got, there’s always going to be a real threat.
“They have some real quality, but for me the most pleasing thing is we were able to quell that for most of the game.”
