Town forward Conor Chaplin felt the Blues’ 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest was hard to accept due to the game lacking in quality from both sides.

Chris Wood’s penalty early in the second half proved to be decisive to condemn Town to their sixth defeat of the season and end a three-game unbeaten run, leaving them in the Premier League relegation zone on goal difference.

With few clear cut chances in the game, particularly in the second half after both sides had opportunities cleared off the line in the first period, Chaplin felt the contest did not deserve a victor.

“Not a great game, a really a tight game,” he reflected. “A game with not too much ball-in-play time and a lot of nitty-gritty fouls.

“It was probably a game where neither team deserved to win or showed enough quality to win. Really disappointing to come out on the wrong side of it when it’s so tight.

“After [the goal] we didn’t create as much as we would have liked. We probably put the squeeze on late with a lot of possession and territory but I didn’t think we ever really created anything to deserve scoring.

“There were times in the first half where we looked really dangerous when we went through the pitch quickly and had a lot of set pieces and moments that definitely could have resulted in a goal.

“But on reflection neither team did enough to score a goal, it’s come down to a tackle and a penalty which is a big shame.

“Disappointed in hindsight from how the game went just because I think it was a really tight game. It’s a lot easier to accept losing when you’re by far the inferior team but we weren’t today.

“I don’t think there was an inferior team or any of that sort today because the game was so tight. It wasn’t a game of great quality, so it’s a lot harder to take when you lose a game like that.

“There’s disappointment because we’ve lost, that’s the main thing and because there wasn’t much in the game and it’s hard to lose tight games.

“We knew coming into the game that they’re probably top on xG [expected goals] given away or top three in the league, they’re a tough team to create good chances against.

“They don’t really press or leave themselves exposed too much in terms of first and second phases, they get a lot of people behind the ball and they’re good at it. We knew it was going to be tough to crack and tough to create chances and we were going to have to be at our very best.

“I didn’t think either team were, we probably nullified each other throughout the majority of the game. That’s what makes losing harder to take, but we can’t control it now, we need to take lessons from that and take it into the two home games coming up.”

Chaplin nearly had a chance of his own when following up an Omari Hutchinson strike which was saved by Matz Sels. Liam Delap’s touch just took the ball away from Chaplin when he was lining up to shoot.

When put to him that nobody could criticise Delap due to his recent form, Chaplin said: “I will! It’s a goal but Liam wouldn’t have done that on purpose, he hasn’t seen or heard me.

“It’s one of those things that’s unfortunate, I back myself there nine times out of 10 to finish. He’s not the type of selfish lad to do that intentionally, he just hasn’t heard or seen me.

“It will be [special when the first goal comes]. I’m more interested in winning games and picking points up than that at the moment. But it’s obviously something that I’m working towards.

“I feel really good, I felt really good especially in the first half today. I felt we had some really good moments and I affected the game really well. I’m definitely enjoying it, it’s definitely a more challenging league but it’s where we all want to be. It’s just about consistently improving.”

Speaking further on Delap, Chaplin added: “He’s been brilliant. He’s got all the attributes that you’d want in a modern day number nine. He’s learning as well, he’s got a long way to go in terms of learning and understanding the game and what it takes to be dialled in all the time.

“But he’s a hungry lad, he’s really working hard to understand and to be consistent for 90 minutes. He is going to show that in weeks to come. He’s definitely got scope to get better.”

Chaplin was the only change to Kieran McKenna’s line-up for the defeat at Forest as the forward replaced Wes Burns which allowed Hutchinson to move into a wide right role.

The former Portsmouth man argued that it is not as difficult to adjust when in and out of the side as some may think due to the onus being on keeping himself fit and ready.

“It is and it isn’t [tricky],” he said. “You’ve got to be ready for those moments and keep yourself in tip-top condition. You have to be ready, it’s part of football, so I don’t think you can be expected to be given grace just because you haven’t played. It’s on you to be ready.”

The bigger picture is that the Blues are 19th in the table but face an important home double-header against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth this week.

Chaplin believes this period of the season is crucial but does not see the two upcoming fixtures as bigger than any other match.

“They’re big games but they’re all big games for us,” the 27-year-old claimed. “I don’t think you can pinpoint any game being bigger than the other. We proved at Tottenham away you don’t know when there’s a win around the corner.

“We want to start picking up some good points at home at Portman Road and we see it as a good opportunity, definitely.

“December’s the same whatever league you’re in. That’s probably the good thing about December that there’s games thick and fast which we love. The more congested the fixture list is the better as there’s more opportunities to pick up points.

“We’re definitely getting better. Today was one where we didn’t show our quality enough and we could have played a lot more than we did. They make it hard, they’re very rigid without the ball and don’t really leave you a spare man too much.

“But we’re in a good spot, we’ve got two home games to look to which is a rarity in the Premier League, especially being a Tuesday-Sunday. We’re looking at recovery and then preparing for that.

“Everyone that knows football and is following us can see that we’re getting better and better, it’s obvious to see. We need to take steps each and every day and keep working towards getting better. But we are, we work so hard on it every single day so I’m confident in us.”

As Town look to break their home duck without a win, Chaplin added: “Every game we’ve drawn at home we were probably the better team and could have won. It’s moments but I think you’ve seen that today, the game’s decided by a penalty.

“We’ve had times where it’s not gone our way in terms of refereeing decisions which would have helped us in terms of winning the game. Every game we’ve drawn at home we felt like we could have won.

“It’s easy because it comes from the boss and the senior lads in the group. It’s the right message too and anyone that sees us play can see it’s the right message. Keep doing what we’re doing and it will come.”

Photo: Alfie Cosgrove/News Images/Sipa USA

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 19:01 - Nov 30 Agreed!
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MK1 added 09:08 - Dec 1 And we certainly didn't deserve to lose.
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