Norwich City manager Dean Smith has claimed his side have got to be 'harder' to beat ahead of this weekend's crunch clash with Leeds United at Elland Road.
The Canaries stretched their winless run to six matches with a 3-1 defeat against Chelsea on Thursday. Goals from Trevor Chalobah, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz sealed the three points at Carrow Road.
It was a damaging loss in Norwich's hopes of staying in the Premier League, but they face another side in Leeds who are in danger of dropping into the Championship.
Leeds fell to their fifth successive defeat against Aston Villa in midweek, as Phillipe Coutinho, Matty Cash and Callum Chambers all struck and Jesse Marsch has struggled to turn the tide following Marcelo Bielsa's dismissal.
Although Marsch has taken charge of just two games, time is running out to pick up victories as they try to stay in the division. Leeds currently sit 16th, just two points above the drop zone.
But the game is as important for Norwich, who will be keen to bounce back and Smith has admitted that his side must improve in the defensive third to collect more points in the future, starting with Leeds on Sunday.
Smith told Norfolk Live: "I just made a couple of changes and changed the system (at half-time).
"I wanted to get to half-time without conceding any more because I knew we had to change the system but with the personnel we had on the pitch at that time it was going to be difficult without bringing somebody off in the first-half. I didn’t want to do that.
"Second-half, we played how we want to play, how our players, supporters and how I want them to play.
"Being hard to beat but also being on the front foot and getting into people’s faces. Making tackles and sticking them on their backside sometimes. First-half we didn’t do that.
"I’m really pleased that that performance in the second-half wasn’t in the first-half and it was reversed, because if our first-half had been our second-half today, going into Leeds it would have been different.
"I think the lads set their standards again themselves in the second-half. That is more of what we have to do, we have to be harder to beat but also on the front foot."
