By Charlie Hewitson
USW men’s 2nds manager Rob Bailey insisted his team’s 7-2 home defeat to Bath 4ths left him feeling “the most embarrassed he’s been in his 20 years of coaching”.
Bailey pulled no punches when asked to reflect on a game which saw the hosts undone by five-goal Bath striker Sam Rood – and barely lay a significant glove on their opposition.
“I’m disappointed to say the least, there’s so much to critique,” said Bailey.
“We didn’t problem-solve and we were outworked.
“I don’t mind getting beaten by a better side, Bath deserved their win.
“They took their chances – but we let them play.
“Even when we looked for solutions it just didn’t happen’.
“I don’t tend to talk about wins and losses.
“It’s more about performances.
“This one left me more embarrassed than I’ve been in 20 years of coaching.
“At half-time I growled, which is not something I do often.”
Bailey admitted his players weren’t good enough – with and without the ball.
“Sam Hill did a good job of stopping them play out from the back as much,” said Bailey.
“But I think the biggest thing is that when we had the ball we didn’t look after it.
“We just run out of legs.
“And then we just didn’t work hard enough out of possession.”
Bailey said his team’s defensive performance wasn’t good enough, and emphasised that every player had a part in that.
He added: “We weren’t good enough defensively from the front to the back.
“We need to make sure teams don’t play through us.
“As a team we’ve had three training sessions together, so it’s always going to be a work in progress.
“I said to the boys before the game not to think that because we’ve had two good performances we’re the finished article.
“Afterwards I challenged the players to look in the mirror and ask themselves if they could have done more and better, because getting outworked and being outsmarted is not a good look.”