Sturrock: We lacked sharpness

13 December 2010 13:30
Southend boss Paul Sturrock insists his side`s disrupted training schedule was partly to blame for the 3-1 defeat at Burton. The Shrimpers had been forced to train indoors in the build-up to the game due to poor weather conditions and Sturrock believes it had a major impact on his team`s performance. He told the Southend Echo: "From the outset you could see there was a sharpness about Burton which we didn't have. "We've not been able to get enough training done and I think it's 18 days now since we were able to get out on to the pitches at our training ground. "The snow and ice makes it hard to keep people match fit and for four or five days some of our players couldn't even get in to Southend. But Burton have trained every day. They've had good facilities available to them in Derby and we haven't had that luxury. "It makes a difference but at the same time football is all about attitude and work-rate first of all and we didn't battle and scratch like we needed to. We didn't match their zest and we didn't deserve anything out of the game."

Source: PA