Opposition view: Skill levels let Bristol down against Saints, says boss Lam
Bristol Bears boss Pat Lam felt his side's skill levels let them down in their 48-31 defeat at Saints on Saturday.
The Bears shipped seven tries at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens, suffering a third successive Gallagher Premiership defeat.
However, they did rally late on to pick up a try bonus point as they remain in the play-off places with three league matches - against Bath, Sale and Harlequins - to play.
"If we want to play the way we want to play, our skill levels are letting us down at the moment," Lam said.
"Last week (in the 36-19 defeat to Leicester Tigers) we didn't get that bonus point and that's because we weren't together, but this time we stayed together and we got that bonus point.
"We've got three games to go, it's in our control, but certainly our skill levels are letting us down at the moment.
"We're in that top four and it's still in our control.
"We move to the next game and this is life. It's (about) what you're going to do about it and I'm seeing some big changes from the Gloucester game (a 53-28 defeat on March 29) to this game.
"I know we're not getting the results but there's a lot of pride in those guys and I'm sure they'll take ownership and try to fix stuff.
"The thing we know is that we can beat Bath (in the next game) and last year we went and beat Sale, and we also know we can beat Harlequins.
"We know we can do it - the fact is, can we do it? Bath are red-hot at the moment but motivation won't be an issue and at least we go into that game with both of us in the top four."