TN blaze the Trail with win at Derby - but coach still not happy
MEN’S BASKETBALL
TEAM Northumbria head coach Marc Steutel insisted there is still plenty of room for improvement after his side claimed an 81-72 Division One win against Derby Trailblazers.
The previous weekend Steutel admitted t he was disappointed with how his players performed - urging them to put on a better show against their East Midlands opponents.
While TN secured a seemingly comfortable victory, TN’s playcaller was clear his side needed to improve the fundamentals if they want to compete for honours at the end of the season.
Steutel said: “I thought we were scrappy and a little inconsistent.
“It was a decent win and we made some key plays at key times to secure it but I will have to watch it back in detail to gaint a better perspective on our performance.
“There were a lot of things I thought we did not do well. We were not disciplined in certain areas.
“There were times where we were trying to make the right play defensively but overall I just thought we were a bit indifferent at times.
“So we will have to go back through the game and look at where we can improve.”
TN’s win over Derby was the beginning of a gauntlet of games facing Steutel’s men and he admitted the congested fixture list would be a real challenge for his side.
He added: “We had a good week in the build-up to Derby.
“However, with the way the schedule is over the next few weeks we are going to have limited opportunities out on court to tighten up on some of our issues.
“It is a crazy schedule but other teams in the league go through it too.
“I love the guys, the way they compete and the way they buy in but we need to be better in a lot of aspects going forward.”
TN hit the road next weekend with back-to-back away games against Loughborough and Kent.