The tie was goalless at half-time, but the Iron keeper Sam Slocombe was beaten four times in the latter 45 minutes.
"We looked comfortable in the first half, we looked organised and in good shape. I said it was important that we kept that balance right, and that the first goal was always going to be important," said Laws.
"They got that first goal, and the confidence drained from the players. They lost their discipline, they started chasing and we fell apart in that second half.
“The players need help and support. It's not about hitting them with a stick, it's about getting the best we possibly can out of them.
“This showed there's fragile nature within the camp. It won't be a flick of the switch, we know it's going to be a tough turnaround, but as long as we pull in the right direction we can get there.
“There weren't any surprises for me. I'm just disappointed we conceded four goals in the second half when we never looked like doing so. It's all in the mind.”
Martin Allen, the Gillingham manager, revealed he used his half-time teamtalk to call for his League Two leaders to raise their game.
"I said to the players at half time: 'now let's start playing. Let's go up another notch. You can go faster, jump higher and you can go up another level'," he said.
"We expected them to be hard to beat. It was always going to be difficult to break them down.
"But in the second half, we had far too much passion, power, pace and quality for them. We played some great football, and once we got that ball moving round the pitch, there was only going to be one winner."