Sturrock blames defensive lapses

Sturrock blamed his side's latest defeat on defensive lapses

Plymouth Argyle manager Paul Sturrock blamed defensive lapses for his side's 3-0 home defeat to Derby County in the Championship on Saturday.

The defeat saw Argyle drop to 17th in the table, five points above the relegation zone.

"You can't legislate for simple errors from the back four," Sturrock told BBC Radio Devon after the game.

"The back four has had to chop and change over the last three or four games and we've not been settled."

He added: "The second goal should have been cleared. It's not cleared, then somebody else should clear it in the middle, and it's not cleared and it finished up lying in the back of the net.

"The third one people are falling over all over the place.

"I keep saying two things, it's simple in the game, if our front two can keep the ball and our back two can header it away, then you'll win more than you lose."

And, according to Sturrock, Argyle's inability to score - they have only hit the net five time in their last 13 league games - is not helping them either.

"The problem is getting that first goal," he said. "Any time we've got the first goal, like with the Blackpool game, we've gone on to win or draw.

"But the problem being is that we seem at this junction in time that we can't get that elusive start."