Swansea manager Bob Bradley is not afraid to make difficult decisions and will continue to ask tough questions of his players in his bid for Premier League survival.
An 11th match without a league win dropped the Swans to bottom of the table after they were denied three much-needed points in a 1-1 draw thanks to an 89th-minute Everton equaliser.
Bradley made wholesale changes - eight in all - for the first match back after the international break having been unhappy with what he witnessed in their previous outing against Manchester United, a 3-1 defeat.
The American's appointment has been criticised by some because he has no experience of English football and - while two points from his first five matches highlights the magnitude of the job ahead of him - he is not prepared to allow his players to get off lightly.
"There are different factors," he said when asked why he had made so many changes.
"It was an international break, there are a few injuries but make no mistake, we looked at the game against Manchester United and the last 30-something minutes of the first half we agreed that is not who we are.
"We played with no intensity and I told the players if any part of the message for the tactics for that game were part of the problem, then I'll put my hand up and take all the responsibility.
"We talked about still being able to keep the ball better, talked about defensively being stronger, so there was a real effort to correct something we're just not satisfied with.
"That is part of the reason for the changes. When you have guys who are inconsistent, that also goes hand-in-hand with a team not playing at the level it should be."
Bradley bemoaned more defensive lapses as, having taken the lead through Gylfi Sigurdssonn's penalty just before half-time, a weak header by Jordi Amat a minute before the end allowed Seamus Coleman to nod home the equaliser.
"This was still encouraging but at the same time (it is about) knowing how to see games out," added the Swans boss.
"We still have a tendency not to clear balls and usually you pay the price; that has happened more than once in the 12 games this year.
"You have to understand that to become a more complete team you have to be better from start to finish in every category.
"The road ahead is a long and hard one but one we can definitely handle."
Everton narrowly avoided a third defeat in four matches but created their own problems with an aimless first half that had boss Ronald Koeman ranting in the dressing room at the interval.
His angry words had the desired effect in raising the tempo on the pitch but it concerns him that the trait of slow starts is becoming something of a bad habit.
Koeman was expressive and adventurous as a player and he wants his teams to be just as ambitious, which is why with seven minutes remaining he replaced centre-back Phil Jagielka with striker Enner Valencia and adopted a 3-1-4-2 formation which ultimately earned him a point.
"We know you can lose in football but it is how you lose the game. Go for it," said the Dutchman.
"We always need something outside. We need to put it on the pitch ourselves, that is what we need to improve."
Source: PA
