A gutted Steve Morison was left fuming again as he asked his players if it hurt enough to lose in a Cardiff City shirt following their 2-0 defeat by Middlesbrough.
Cardiff succumbed to their fourth successive league loss up on Teesside, they have won one of their last six games dating back to the middle of March, with the last three opponents all chasing a spot in the play-offs.
While the focus has turned towards the transfer window and building to next year, it still pains the fans, 600 of whom had made the trip to the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday night, to see their team lose a string of games. Indeed, it hurts Morison, too, but he posed that very question to his players in the dressing room after the match.
READ MORE : Middlesbrough beat Cardiff 2-0 as Bluebirds fall to fourth successive defeat
"I hate it. I absolutely hate it," he said of losing. "I get out of bed every day to win games of football. I absolutely hate it.
"The question I asked them in there is; 'Does it hurt enough to lose?' But you always have to take yourself away and look at the bigger picture. I am picking teams, the best team I think I can pick. I've got no one else to come into this group. That is my 18 players.
"We only came with 18 players because we've got no one else to bring and we will do the best we can with that group and try to pick a way to get the best out of those players.
"I just want to win games of football. There are two games left and it would be great to go out on a high. Once we start building, at the minute it's all talk, there is stuff in place, but until we can start showing you guys what we are looking to do and put stuff together, it's a waiting game and a frustrating one."
Cardiff gave as good as they got early on against Chris Wilder's men, but as the game wore on, it became clear which of the two sides had something to fight for. As the Bluebirds began to look leggy and stretched, Boro found that extra bit between their teeth.
Two easy goals for Boro, the first scored by Marcus Tavernier and the second by Riley McGree, was enough to do the job, as Cardiff were wasteful with their eight attempts at goal. More than a couple of them were decent chances, too.
Cardiff have just lost that clinical edge in recent weeks and, ultimately, that's what Morison believed was the difference between the two teams.
"We just weren't good enough in the final third," the manager added. "I thought we were really good in the first two thirds of the pitch if you want to break it down like that. We just didn't have enough in the final third.
"They didn't have to work hard for their goals, we gave the ball away and they punished us with the quality they had in the final third. They had one shot in the first half of note, scored it, we have two or three and we don't score. It's frustrating.
"Second half they waited for us to make a mistake and they punished us. When we have our moments, we don't take them, it's the same old story.
"It's only so many times they can keep working, keep creating chances and getting in the areas. People have to take their chances. It's a work-in-progress."
