We must tighten up, says Titans coach

COACH Lee Blackett will demand a much better defensive performance from his Titans’ players when they head to troubled Plymouth tomorrow – or they could make the long trip home with red faces.

Albion are fighting for their lives at the foot of the Championship and in desperate financial trouble. If the threat of entering administration materialises, the 20-point deduction will effectively see them relegated.

But Blackett knows it will be tough, Plymouth having only lost last time out at Nottingham after the hosts scored a penalty in the final seconds.

Before that, Albion had won their first league game for ten long months when they squeezed home 19-18 against Moseley at the Brickfields.

“We were probably second best when we played Plymouth here at the start of the season but we managed to win,” said Blackett.

“We now have to make sure we’re back to where we were in the overall picture because they will be a difficult team to play against."

But conversely, Blackett knows that it’s a game Titans have to win to keep their top four aspirations alive.

Against Leinster last week Rotherham’s performance left the coaching team tearing their hair out at times, down to some awful defensive work.

“If I was sat here purely as an attack coach I’d say well-played, because we scored 32 points and missed a load of other opportunities. We created so much in the first half but we just weren’t clinical enough,” he said.

“But as a head coach, where I oversee everything, I was really, really disappointed to concede 51 points. That wasn’t good enough. We just have to be a lot better defensively."

Much more on the Titans, including MP Sarah Champion's attempt to sort out the club's future at Clifton Lane, in this week's Advertiser.