Gillingham manager Mark Bonner reacts to 2-0 FA Cup first round defeat at home to Steve Bruce’s Blackpool

Gillingham manager Mark Bonner accepted that their fans would be frustrated despite what he described as a “good performance” against Blackpool on Saturday.

The Gills were knocked out of the FA Cup as two clinical finishes by Sonny Carey proved decisive at Priestfield in the first-round tie.

Bonner said: “I don’t know if supporters will be stressed, probably just angry and frustrated some.

“But the vast majority would applaud us off the pitch and say that was a good performance. Actually, you’re mad if you don’t think that.

“Honestly, there’s loads to like in that game against a team from a higher level. But it’s not enough for where we want to get to so you can’t dine out on an alright performance. You want more than that.

“We’re probably all the same in that sense, that there is a massive frustration. Building anything takes time, you can’t afford to be stressed in the key moments but you have to be emotional about it, that gives you the fuel to improve and get better and try to turn the run of results into a more positive one next week.”

While Bonner was pleased with plenty of moments from his team, the Gills boss knew that they lacked a touch of quality when it mattered most.

“I liked lots of our performance, I have to say, particularly in the second half,” he said. “I thought we built some brilliant momentum in the early stages of the second half.

“They made some defensive changes which was credit to how we were playing in the game. Then we had a lot of possession, a lot of dangerous moments or areas that we got to with the ball.

“I don’t know what it looked like statistically, just the quality of those chances, the execution and spark in the last bit is where we’re lacking a little bit. We’ve had a lot of games