Hughes looks to learn from defeat

I wrote following the Derby defeat that once the dust settled, Hughes would be more reflective on the game as a whole, summising as follows:

In the cold light of day though when the emotion from the defeat settles, Hughes will look at the game and be concerned at the way and manner in which we conceded the goals despite the huge investment in that area.

In today's MEN, Hughes has done just that (whilst still having a veiled attack at the officials):

"We have to be bloody-minded and make sure we see games to their conclusion, no matter what the officials add on at the end of the game," said Hughes.
"We allowed too many balls into our box which we didn't deal with, and we are disappointed with all of their goals.
"That's the frustration from our point of view, not seeing the game out. But we showed some great quality, and stuck at it and in the end we were brave.

"We will pick the bones out of it and look at certain parts of the game when we could have eased the pressure."

Looking at the game, there were tremendous positives that we can take from it - and the performances was a signal that this side is to be reckoned with, and an indication that a challenge to the top four is within our capability.

Defensive mistakes have cost us in the past, and as well as United attacked, we contributed to our downfall on Sunday - although United's defensive performances was no better so credit should be given to both sides for their attacking intent.

A plus is that we now have the chance with two winnable games (Fulham in the Carling Cup and West Ham in the Premier League) to put Sunday behind us and iron out some of the less positive aspects of our play.