"We're in a little bit of pain right now. Bar the first 45 minutes at Stoke we have competed and showed signs of being a really good team, but not picked up the points we deserved. We more than matched one of the best teams in the league. They just had a little bit more on the pitch and the bench.
"People spoke about what it was in terms of the levels of the opposition but it's irrelevant - we have to be where we need to be and that is a front foot team. The players put everything into it, I just wish I could help them a little bit more."