Tranmere Rovers manager Keith Hill gave his reaction following a 1-0 defeat at Walsall on Tuesday night.
Emmanuel Osadebe’s wonder strike midway through the second half was enough to separate the two sides at the Banks’ Stadium.
And Hill spoke to the local press after the game to give his thoughts.
“I was encouraged by the first half but disappointed with the second half. We got the ball into the final third but we didn’t look sharp or clinical. We were disappointed with the second half performance and the game gets away from you even more when you go down to ten men.”
“It’s a difficult one to take. Players are responsible for winning games and I’m responsible for when we lose games and I’ve got to find the right answers with this group of players.
“No excuses, none whatsoever. I can’t step over that white line but the players know themselves what they need to do better.
“I’ve got to support the players now, not beat them in. We’ve not had a difficult spell whilst I’ve been at the club. This is a difficult spell but the reward is when you come out of that difficult spell and sticking together.
On a positive note for Rovers, James Vaughan returned to action from the bench in the game and got 20 minutes under his belt.
“We wanted James in the squad and we wanted his presence. I’m being guided by James Vaughan in how he feels but we cannot put all of our eggs in James Vaughan’s basket. We have to protect him whilst taking a certain amount of calculated risk.
“He’s not been on the training pitch and he wanted to be included. He’s a key player for us and he needs minutes on the grass.”