FRANK Lampard admits Coventry City need to be more clinical in both boxes following defeat at league leaders Sheffield United.
The Sky Blues suffered a 3-1 defeat at Bramall Lane as Jack Rudoni netted a consolation goal for the visitors in injury time.
And Lampard admits his side lost the game in both boxes and felt the Blades moved the ball quicker than the Sky Blues.
Lampard said: “Sometimes you have got to credit the opposition.
“We’re a good team and that’s why we’ve been on this run, and I thought we started pretty well, decent possession and no massive chances at either end.
“We weren’t as clinical as they were at the other end and football many times is won in both boxes when you have two good teams.
“They were more clinical, and they were better than us in both boxes. In the middle of the pitch, I thought it was a good trade off.
“We probably build and prepare a bit more than them and they were probably faster and more transitional than us.”
The home side opened the scoring on 19 minutes when former Coventry favourite Gustavo Hamer curled a free-kick into the top right corner from 25-yards out.
And the Blades doubled their lead on the half-hour mark as Tyrese Campbell turned home Femi Seriki’s low cross from the right.
United all but sealed the points on 62 minutes as Rhian Brewster emphatically picked out the left corner of the goal from Ben Brereton Diaz’s pass.
The Sky Blues reduced the deficit in injury time when Luis Binks beat United goalkeeper Michael Cooper to a corner from the right and Rudoni volleyed the ball into an empty net from close range.
Despite the defeat, Coventry remain fifth in the Championship table, two points clear of the chasing pack in the race for a play-off place.
And Lampard wants his players to stay positive and move on quickly from the result.
Lampard added: “You are always vulnerable, and we want to play but we have to be careful with the break and you can’t give away stray passes in midfield and you can’t get caught on the ball because that’s what moments they wait for as well.
“We had a few of those, but I won’t complain, this can happen when you come to Sheffield, they are strong and you can lose the game, what is important is the reaction.
“We will analyse the game, but it wasn’t a character thing or an application thing or anything like that, you come up against a good team who are more clinical than you, then you lose the game.
“It’s disappointing for sure, but where we’ve come from and what we want to do this season now, it’s important that everybody is very positive and quick moving onto the next game.”
Coventry are next in action against Burnley on Saturday, April 5 with kick-off at 12.30pm at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
