All it seems to be this season is a roller coaster of ups and downs with a good result being followed by an absolutely appalling one.
There can be no excuses for this result, we have seen it before this season many many times, once again we dominated possession with 59%, we dominated shots on goal with 20 against 9 , with the only real difference to most of our defeats that we also dominated shos on target with 5 against 3, but at the end of the day the only stat that counts is goals scored.
We are not a bad side, but we are a side that has seen its balance and momentum ruined by the way that Claude Puel implemented the rotation system and now the manager has realised the error of his ways it is not so easy just to switch back into being a winning side again.
The rotation system can't be blamed for this one, Puel finally realised the benefit of keeping a strong defence and then subtle changes in the middle of the park, this meant that we controlled the game, however when you are down you get kicked in the teeth and that is what happened here.
This was the fourth Premier League defeat in a row and this needs to be arrested and quickly, the problem for the manager is that he now has games coming at him thick and fast and that is going to be tricky to balance.
But that doesn't mean the situation is irretrievable, what it needs now is everyone to pull together to try and make this season a good one and from that viewpoint we are still stood on firm ground, in the Premier League beating Burnley would have seen us in 9th and we are still only three points from that position, but we need to start getting back to winning ways fast.
Some have become too used to winning and can't accept sometimes you have to take a step back to keep moving forward, I said at the start of the season thatit wouldbe hard to replicate last season in the League and we need to remember that if we finish in the top ten that will be the first time in our history we have managed that feat in four consecutive seasons.
In the cups we still have a good chance of glory and this is perhaps where our priorities need to lie.
There is still a lot to play for, yes there is a few things wrong, but they are not major issues and can be put right by a good signing or two.
I always try to take plus points from defeats and the one from this one is that Puel did not rotate willy nilly as he has done at times this season, hopefully that bodes well for the rest of the season.
Disappointing, I was very downcast after this one, hence the late match verdict, however we have to keep looking forward and not back, we cannot change this result nor the previous ones, what we can change though is the ones going forward, as i seem to have had to keep saying for the past three years, it is never about what you have just done in football, but what you do next !