Sam Wants To See Defending From The Front!

"We are working in all areas during the week and trying to get the players to understand how the Premier League can hurt you unless you stay together as a unit.

"The biggest unit of all has to be the back four, knowing how each other play and understanding each other.

"But after all that, I cannot cut out basic errors. If it's great play and intricate play and the opposition play around you and through you, you have to hold your hands up sometimes if your defenders have been trying to do the right thing.

"But when it boils down to two basic errors like it did, then there's very little as a manager you can do.

"But you have to keep working and hope it does not knock their confidence too much and keep showing them what solid, good, organised defensive work looks like in the Premier League."

"By no stretch of the imagination is it just the defence. It is the protection from the balls into the back four and the quality of balls the opposition can play without any pressure on them.

"Defending starts from the front, not from the back. But I do not think that, in the first 12 minutes, was the case, it came about because of basic errors.

"From then on, life was very difficult for us."

"I hope we can just keep going away from home picking up results like we have recently.

"But we are a big, strong, imposing team with ability and a bit of pace."