Striker Ronan Hale says Gillingham must learn to respond better to setbacks after admitting their heads dropped during Saturday’s 4-1 defeat.

The striker pulled the Gills level against Grimsby Town after they had fallen behind in the first half, but three goals after the break left Gareth Ainsworth’s side suffering another heavy defeat at Priestfield.

Hale felt Gillingham had the momentum to push on after his equaliser but believes conceding a second goal, also from the penalty spot, had too great an impact on the team.

“We let our heads drop, and that can't be happening,” he said.

“To get ourselves level, I felt we could have kicked on and taken it to them. Second half, obviously, we gave the second goal away, a penalty, which ultimately shouldn't define the game. I feel that did.

“To lose 4-1 at home, it's not good enough, and hopefully we can put it right next week.”

The Gills had a chance to make a positive start to the second half, with Robbie McKenzie flashing a ball across the box. Hale narrowly missed connecting, while Conor McManus was unable to convert at the back post.

Hale felt that moment was key.

He said: “I thought that was the momentum changing. We could have kicked on from there.

“Obviously, we ended up giving a penalty away, which happens in games. After that, we shouldn't be letting our heads drop. We're going to have to watch it back and go through in fine detail.”

Manager Gareth Ainsworth said his players had been bullied, an assessment Hale agreed with.

“We didn't win enough second balls and stuff like that,” he said.

“League 2, that's what you've got to be doing, first and foremost, winning your duels against your opposition. I feel we didn't do that, but once we got it to 1-1, that's when we really should have kicked on, and it just didn't happen.”

Hale also felt Gillingham allowed the game to get away from them after Grimsby regained the lead.

“When it went 3-1, that's when we thought there was no way back.

“Once it went 2-1, it should have spurred us on to go and get the equaliser again, and it just didn't fall for us.”

The defeat was a stark contrast to Gillingham’s 4-1 away win at Rotherham United earlier this season, while Hale’s goal took his personal tally to six goals for the campaign.

But the striker insists results matter more than individual achievements as the Gills look to find greater consistency.

“Goals are positive, but when the results go like that, it means nothing,” he said.

Gillingham travel to Shrewsbury Town this Saturday, with Hale keen to see an immediate response.

“This league's very close, and as the cliché says, you never get too high, you never get too low,” he said.

“We'll just focus on the next game, and it's Shrewsbury away. We need to turn that corner very soon.”