The Natal Rich Boyz are yet to win a Betway Premiership, having drawn three and lost three of their opening six games.
They most recently suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat to newly promoted Milford in the league on Sunday, where his team was reduced to ten men and conceded a penalty after just 24 minutes.
Gabriel’s side find themselves in 14th place with three points, level with 15th placed Siwelele and one point better off than Marumo Gallants in last place.
Richards Bay are next in action against Sekhuhkune United at the weekend, but then have a month to work on internal issues during the internationnal break.
Reflecting on their struggles this season, Gabriel did his best to explain why his team are yet to win a game.
READ: Betway Premiership : Milford Thrash Richards Bay 5-1 to Move Into Fifth Place
“We looked at our other games coming into this one, because if I look at this fixture here in isolation it’s simple: the red card and the penalty decided the match,” Gabriel said on SuperSport.
“They put us on the back foot, it’s hard to talk tactics when this happens so early into the game. The red card decided the game, so the penalty decision put us on the backfoot because we were chasing the game from there.
“But looking at our previous games against Kaizer Chiefs, Durban City, there were matches where we took a lead and we held on for a longer period and played good football.
“If we had 11 v 11 the entire game it would have been a different story, I can assure you that.”