Danny Cowley: We failed because we weren’t brave enough - I’ve let Portsmouth supporters down

Danny Cowley admitted he felt he’d let Pompey supporters down as their play-off bid crashed at the final hurdle.
Danny CowleyDanny Cowley
Danny Cowley

And the Blues coach acknowledged his players failed to show enough bravery as they let a top-six finish slip from their grasp against Accrington.

The 1-0 defeat was a hugely deflating way to end the season as the players once again came up short when it mattered most.

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A crestfallen Cowley acknowledged what his players produced when it counted wasn’t good enough and - he felt responsible for that.

He said: ‘I’m bitterly disappointed and it’s always horrible when you feel that you’ve let people down.

‘We all in the dressing room have to take responsibility and ownership for that.

‘We wanted to be the best version of ourselves, and we certainly weren’t that in the first half.

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‘We didn’t play with any bravery and, to be brutally honest, we could have been two goals down at half-time.

‘In the second half we had more control and rhythm in our play and tried to get the players to be braver.

‘But when you’re a new group, a young group and you’re changing the way you play.

‘When the pressure comes on if you don’t have the competency or the confidence in that way of playing it can find you out.

‘If we’re brutally honest when the pressure came on, we didn’t play with enough bravery. That’s disappointing.’