Steve Cooper admits Swansea City didn’t do enough as they slumped to a fourth consecutive Championship defeat against Preston North End.
Scott Sinclair’s strike deflected in off Matt Grimes in injury time at the Liberty Stadium to ensure the Swans’ worst run of the season was extended.
And Cooper says his side’s defence - previously the best in the league up until February - were emphatically punished for making another costly mistake in their own box.
“We’re really disappointed. We didn’t do enough in the game to win and we’ve lost it - you could say a little bit unfortunately with the ricochets and how it’s ended up going in,” he said.
“That's three long throws in three games where we’ve conceded goals from and lost the games. I know the game against Birmingham was a penalty, but it’s exactly the same really where we’re not clearing the first one or the second and, in the end, we’re letting the opposition get into goalscoring areas. That’s an issue.
“We know that we’re not looking as much of a threat as we should do. We don’t look like scoring a goal enough. They’re the two things that are playing on my mind at the moment.”
Defeat leaves Swansea in fourth with seven matches left to play, while Cooper’s side are now just four points above seventh-placed Bournemouth.
And Cooper says his troops need to stick together to battle their way through the remainder of the run-in as they look to secure a place in the top six.
“I’m not going to hide away from any of this, we’re not keeping clean sheets and we’re not winning,” he added.
“We’ve got to stand up and be counted here.
“I’m not dressing it up, I’m not making excuses. We’re falling short at the top end of the pitch, and it’s not just the attacking players, it’s the whole team.
“What we’ve got to do is fight even more. I understand we’re not in a very good moment. But, get through it. We won’t be hiding away from it. I certainly won’t.”
Swansea return to action against Millwall on Saturday.
