Troy Deeney apologises for savaging his Forest Green players to the press and admits 'I let my emotions get the better of me'... but stands by his comments following their loss to Harrogate

Forest Green Rovers boss Troy Deeney has apologised for slamming his playersDeeney slammed his players after they lost 2-0 to Harrogate Town in League TwoWould Tottenham be clear at the top of the league if they hadn't lost some of their best players to injury? It's All Kicking Off 

Forest Green Rovers manager Troy Deeney has apologised for slamming his players after their defeat to Harrogate Town and admits he let his emotions ‘get the better of him’.

Deeney – who took over as manager of the side towards the end of December – grilled his squad following their 2-0 loss, saying there are too many ‘babies’ in the team at the moment.

Deeney went on to call his squad a bunch of ‘sulkers’ that are doing ‘their own thing’ before stating he would bring in new players to rectify the problem at the League Two club.

Speaking to Sky Sports about his rant, Deeney said he stood by his comments but that he understands why he was wrong to voice them to the press. Instead, he should have dealt with his concerns in private.

The 35-year-old told the broadcasters: ‘Look we’re all learning on the job. I let my emotions get the best of me at times.

Forest Green Rovers manager Troy Deeney has apologised for slamming his players after their defeat to Harrogate Town and admits he let his emotions ‘get the better of him’

Deeney – who took over as manager of the side towards the end of December – grilled his squad following their 2-0 loss, saying there are too many ‘babies’ in the team at the moment

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‘Obviously as a player you can say what you want. Listen, I still stand by what I said but I probably shouldn’t have let that out. I’ve already spoke to Fankaty Dabo and apologised.

‘I expect high standards. And, in the era we came up in, that was a minimum. Hard work and dedication and sometimes they fall below that.

‘Back then [when he was playing football] it was okay to be called out on it and told you need to think about it a little bit more.’

Forest Green have lost three and drawn three since the former Watford and Birmingham forward took over, and sit bottom of League Two, seven points from safety.

They lost 2-0 to Harrogate Town on Saturday, with Jack Muldoon and Abraham Odoh scoring two second half goal with the home side booed off the pitch at The New Lawn Stadium.

After the game, Deeney slammed his players in the press as he laid bare his desire to make changes to his squad.

‘I was trying to cosy my way into it but the sledgehammers are going to have to come out and there will be a lot that won’t like it,’ he said. ‘I don’t really care. At the moment, there’s too many babies from top to bottom.’

When asked for his assessment of the game, he added: ‘Probably the same as everyone else. A lot of nonsense.

Deeney says he is learning on the job as when he was a player, he could say anything

‘A group of people doing their own thing, hiding, scared. I don’t understand why they’re scared, they should be used to losing based on what I’ve seen over the last 18 months, two years.’

The 35-year-old accepted responsibility for the defeat, but was keen to point to his players’ attitudes as the main reason for the result. He promised fans to make changes this month, despite it looking bleak for the club’s immediate on-field future.

‘I know a lot of people are going to go, Troy’s being harsh, Troy’s deflecting. I’m not deflecting at all, I take full responsibility for it. I pick the team and I have got to apologise to the fanbase, but I’m not really into the apologising thing, I’m into fixing and sorting the issues out at its root core.

‘The root core is that we’ve got a lot of people who haven’t gone through the mill of humility to understand why they are here and what they have been doing. If this is your level at League Two, then why are you at the bottom of League Two?

‘This club is not a bottom of League Two club, so we have to start addressing that. The harsh reality is we will bring people in, which we will and are, but if you come into an environment full of sulkers and people that blame other people then it takes time.

‘There are a lot of things we have had to deal with on a daily basis and that will change very quickly.’

Deeney also slammed his players after they drew with Salford City after conceding late

It wasn’t the first time Deeney had launched a verbal attack on his own team, branding his players ‘not good enough’ after a recent draw with fellow strugglers Salford.

‘By no stretch of imagination I’m standing here defeated, by the way,’ he said after watching his side concede a stoppage-time equaliser.

‘It’s just that the same mistakes keep happening. You change the manager [Horseman], because it’s partly the manager’s fault.

‘But it’s the players, mate. It’s not good enough.’