The left back, who turns 29 this weekend, says that whilst individual errors have cost the team in some quarters, everyone has to take responsibility as a defensive unit, especially when working on the drills to improve.
When asked the question this week, Newey said; “Where has the defensive tightness gone? That's a good question.
“A settled back four always helps but that is no excuse. We conceded sloppy goals again on Saturday at Port Vale. With the first goal, Conrad would want to do better and we defended poorly from the free-kick for the second goal. We have to take responsibility for that.
“We have done plenty of defensive drills on the training ground, and that's the disappointing thing because when you're making the same errors and conceding goals, it makes it look like you're not doing anything. I can assure you we are working very hard on the training ground trying to put things right.”
He added;: “It was disappointing. For the first 15 minutes we were on top but then conceded two goals. We finished the first half strongly and had chances without creating anything really clear cut. We started the second half well and had a goal disallowed, which was dubious, but we kept going. The performance as a whole was pretty decent and you could see from the reaction of their bench that they knew we were on top and that they got away with it.
“Their keeper probably had more saves to make than ours but you can't give anyone two-goal leads, whether it's Premier League or League Two. Individual errors have cost us. Collectively and as a team, we have to stand up and ask whether we did enough to win and we haven't. That's something to look at again but we take heart that we kept going on a hot day and on a big pitch. Port Vale is not an easy place to go. Not many will go there and win. They're a strong and physical side and make it very difficult for you but I thought we stood up to it for most of the game.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow's clash, Newey continued; “Burton have always been a good footballing side. We had great games against them last season at home and at their place. There always seems to be lots of goals so it should be a good one for the fans.
“We got off to a tremendous start to the season and got ourselves up there, which is where we want to be. This is a little setback for us of late and it is going to be a test of character to see if we can bounce back.”