Nottingham Forest’s winless run continued as they were beaten 2-0 by Cardiff City, leaving head coach Sabri Lamouchi under pressure.
Across the end of last season and the start of the new campaign, the Reds have gone eight league games without a victory - nine in all competitions.
Kieffer Moore’s first half double proved enough for the Bluebirds at the City Ground, with the hosts only sparking into life after the break.
Here’s what the Forest manager had to say after the final whistle.
Was a poor first half what cost you today?
“We started the game in absolutely the wrong way. It was just unacceptable to start the game like that.
“We didn’t win any duels and we conceded with their first corner.
“We know the quality of this team and we worked all week on long throw-ins, second balls and corners, and we didn’t mark them.
“It was absolutely unacceptable.
“We conceded the first goal after the first corner and we conceded the second goal after the first throw-in.
“You can work in the week, but if you are not focused and determined at set-pieces, it is difficult.
“The second half was much better, because we didn’t play in the first half.
“But Grabs could have scored, and at 1-1 the game might have been different.
“We have to do more. We have to be more solid and strong. We were so soft and it was so easy for the opponent.
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“We have to find a solution to get out of this difficult situation.
“Talking with the staff, probably some players are still thinking about the end of last season.
“But it is a new season, with different problems.
“We have enough quality and we have the players to get out of this situation.”
How do you get the team to start in the same way as you played in the second half?
“The league has started. It is the second game. It’s not a friendly game.
“It’s the league. The Championship.
“We need to start with more aggression and more determination.
“To start to play when we have conceded one or two goals, it is not enough. It is not the way we want to play or the way we want to start the game.
“We can’t accept what happened in the first half. We have to show them the video and the mistakes.
“Mistake after mistake means losing points. The season has started. We need to wake up and to do the job.”
Do you feel under pressure?
“The team is losing, but I am losing too. This is my job.
“It is a good question, but I don’t have the answer. The only answer I have is just that I believe to be the right manager to get out of this situation.
“We have the players we want, we just have to find the right solution.
“It’s true, it is just the second (league) game. But we have lost six points, and we can’t accept that.
“Managers are always under pressure. All managers in the world need time. All managers, to get time, need results. And we don’t have the result.
“We absolutely need to get points very quickly.”
Do you think the players are suffering from a lack of confidence?
“Probably.
“But in the second half, we ran more, we won more duels and we created more. It was not enough, but we created more.
“The last touch was not so good, but we created more in the second half.
“If we only start playing after we have conceded, we will face a lot of problems.
Joe Lolley came off in the first half, was it because of injury?
“It was just a tactical choice.
“I didn’t want to wait until the break. At 2-0, it was enough just to send a message.
“But probably we need to do more.
“We need to be more solid, and for that, this week we will check what players are available and what we can do.”
