Gillingham were booed off again at Priestfield as they lost in the FA Cup first round for the third year running.

Manager Gareth Ainsworth and his players clapped the fans at the end, but many of those supporters reacted in anger after another disappointing afternoon on home soil.

A 1-0 loss to non-league Barrow on Saturday came two weeks after a 4-1 thrashing at home in the league against Grimsby Town. Draws against Port Vale and Newport County preceded those results.

Ainsworth had hoped to be making Priestfield a place that teams feared to come but it’s his own players who are facing a tough time of it on their own patch.

The Gills boss said he understood the fan reaction at the end of Saturday’s game.

He said: “It's a vicious circle isn't it? The pressure comes because you don't win and when you don't win, the pressure comes.

“You've got to be able to raise above it. It is tough. There's certain aspects of it that I don't want to go into, but I think that we've got to pull together within and make sure that we get out on that pitch and give the fans something to cheer about, because getting booed off at the end is not nice.”

Gillingham’s fans had seen their side miss some good chances in the opening half but had less to cheer in the second. Ronan Hale came close but Barrow finished strongly and scored a late winner.

Ainsworth said: “They [the fans] got behind us, they were singing, there's one or two moments that I don't want to go into, but on the whole, they were good.

“At the end, it's not nice because we are applauding them for turning up and thanking them and they were venting their frustrations at us and I understand that as well.”

The Gills are away in their next two games. They play Northampton Town in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night before taking on Colchester United in the league on Saturday.

Addressing the fans after Saturday’s loss, Ainsworth added: “Fans, thank you for turning up, you got right behind us for most of the game and I understand your frustrations at the end. I can't do any more.

“I'll get the boys ready for Tuesday now. The boys are giving their all again and I'll protect them. Have a go at me, but get behind the players because they're the ones really trying hard on the pitch and it didn't go for us.”