Ian Dawes gave his reaction to Tranmere Rovers’ Sky Bet League Two play-off semi-final second-leg tie away at Morecambe on Sunday.
The result finished 1-1 on the day, but the Shrimps progressed 3-2 on aggregate to go through.
Dawes said: “Something we addressed going into the game was about how we start the game, with desire, hunger and aggression, and the players didn’t do that, there were too many who didn’t start in that frame of mind.
“They wanted it more than us, especially in the first 20 to 25 minutes, and by that time we went a goal down, we had to react to it, but it was not acceptable and we spoke before about how well we can play, but we fundamentally have to show all those sides to it, and the minimum required to be a Tranmere Rovers player is to represent the fans that way, they want to see players play for the shirt and the badge, and show hunger and desire.
“They started better than us. We hit the bar through James Vaughan and Paul Lewis had a shot, but I wouldn’t say it was good enough, and at half-time we knew we had to change a few things. We can only address that desire side of it, only they can change it when they cross that white line.
“We changed the shape to try and get more width and crosses into the box, we put an extra striker on to put them under a bit more pressure and we got the goal back, but they managed the game better than we did from then.
“There wasn’t enough quality going into the box today and when we did get into wide areas, there was not enough quality to go and attack, and when there was quality, it looked like something would happen, but there wasn’t enough quality today.
“We didn’t do the basics of it all, and it’s unacceptable for a Tranmere player.
“The fans didn’t deserve that today. They’ve been outstanding watching from home this season.”
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