Lee: One of those days

SHOULDER TO SHOULDER . . . Athletic full-back Kieran Lee and Rene Howe, of Bristol Rovers, battle for the ball.

KIERAN Lee admitted Athletic got what they deserved from their visit to Bristol Rovers — very little.

Since a four-goal thrashing of Hartlepool at Boundary Park, the right-back has been part of an Athletic side who have picked up just two points from a possible 12, finding the target only once in six hours of football.

That is despite two of the games in question — Rovers and Dagenham — coming against teams in the relegation places, while in another Carlisle had lost four in succession before seeing off Paul Dickov’s men.

Lee hopes that the upcoming series of games against sides near the upper reaches of the npower League One table, starting with tomorrow night’s trip to MK Dons, will spur Athletic on to better things.

“We didn’t play well enough, really,” said Lee, reflecting on the 1-0 defeat to a previously out-of-form Pirates side managed by his former boss Dave Penney.

“We made a few chances and a couple of them we should definitely have put away.

“But it was one of those days where nothing seemed to go in for us. They scored and it was hard from there.

“We knew it would be a tough game and a battle on a pitch which wasn’t the best.

“But while we knew what to expect we didn’t perform as we should have done.

“To be fair, I don’t think we really deserved much from the game.

“We have got a lot of tough games coming up now. But it is what you expect and we tend to rise against the good teams anyway.

“We are looking forward to them and hopefully we will pick up some points form them.

“If we are fighting for the play-offs, which is our hope, then we have to beat the teams up there.

“A lot of those games could become six-pointers which will help us a lot if we were to win them.”

After the game at Stadium:mk tomorrow, Athletic have a home match against fourth-placed Peterborough on Saturday. A long journey to Bournemouth, currently second and with the best home record in the division, follows a week later.

Lee will hope to be involved in all those games, but with his contract expiring at the end of the season doesn’t yet know if his future lies with the club.

“I am happy here but my contract is running out, so I don’t know what is going to happen yet,” Lee added.

“We will see what happens. I will speak to the club, but I don’t know yet.”