Town boss Lee Clark talked to htafc.com following the 2-0 defeat at Gillingham:

"26 minutes have cost us the game today - I thought we were very poor for the opening 25 minutes, but after the sending-off I thought the response in the next twenty minutes was excellent.

"We didn't even get chance to sit down in the dugout before we were 2-0 down in the second-half and from our own kick-off - we gave the ball awayand thirty seconds later the ball was in the back of our net. However, once again I thought the response from the players was absolutely fantastic and with a bit more luck we could have got something from the game. I am really proud of the effort from the players at ten against eleven.

"They were always going to have chances - that is understandable when you are a man down, especially when we threw Theo on and went 3-3-3 - but we showed great work rate and created chances. They made good decisions, but in the first 25 minutes we didn't. I was really proud of the player's efforts, but you cannot open a game like we did.

"We look like we still had a hangover from Tuesday night in the first 25 minutes and we deserved to be one goal down through a terrific goal. The second goal was poor, but we cannot sulk now - we have to face things head-on and Norwich City at home next weekend is a great game for us.

"Young Nathan showed a massive lack of discipline and got what he deserved - a straight red card. I stress to the players before every game that we need controlled aggression and you have to be big enough to not get involved in anything unnecessary. Certainly if Nathan's tackle had been by an opposition player on one of my lads, I would have wanted a red card. That left us with a mountain to climb, but I thought the ten players showed they could do it; if it had stayed at 1-0 for a longer period we would have had a chance, but the lads kept going and showed great spirit.

"We will certainly discipline Nathan, because his lack of discipline has possibly cost the side. It was a reckless challenge and it deservedly got a straight red. However, I will also be helping him through this - he is a young player making his first foray into first-team football and he will make mistakes. At times, even senior players do that."