Leeds United midfielder Adam Forshaw believes his side must improve in possession if they are to escape relegation after the Whites fell to a 2-1 defeat against Manchester City in Sam Allardyce's first match in charge of the club.
Long-serving midfielder Forshaw was one of four players reintroduced to the United starting line-up by veteran boss Allardyce, alongside goalkeeper Joel Robles and defenders Max Wober and Junior Firpo.
An impressive first-half brace from City skipper Ilkay Gundogan was enough to win the game for Pep Guardiola's side, but only after Rodrigo's sharp finish ensured that there would be a tense ending to proceedings at the Etihad Stadium.
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While the defensive frailties that had cost both Jesse Marsch and Javi Gracia their jobs this season were not, encouragingly, not so evident, 'Big Sam' will have wanted to see his side utilize possession to a greater extent, even if his team only had 18% of it.
And Forshaw acknowledged as much during his post-match interview with LUTV, claiming: "It was tough. We had to ride long moments without the ball here at times.
"We tried to stay as disciplined as we could. I think, looking back at it, we weren't great with the ball. We didn't counter well enough.
"We probably didn't have enough quality on the ball on the day, but I think there are positives to take. We stuck at it and there was a chance at the end."
"In all honesty, [the reason for being poor with the ball is] being knackered when you get it. I think sometimes you're behind the ball for that long, you're chasing it left to right and it's probably not having enough freshness in the legs to do something ourselves, at times.
"They [Man City] wear you down, but I think that'll be definitely something that we will want to improve on being at home next week against Newcastle. Try and use the ball a little bit better and continue with the shape that we've shown at times today."
Nevertheless, Forshaw was also keen to emphasise that United can be encouraged by their display, referencing the tight nature of the eventual outcome.
"It was a great finish. I think the manager said in the previews of the game, 'when you get a chance, you have to take them' and Rodrigo's finish was brilliant. He came on and made an impact.
"It went to the end. It might not have looked like that in the first half. So, as I said, that's a real positive. These [City] are top, top, world-class players, they have a world-class manager and we gave ourselves a chance, so we'll take the positives.
"The fans stuck at it, we stuck at it and they were a credit to themselves. We go again."
