Lions coaches hurting after another loss, but Kriel insists players also to blame

The Lions' now familiar subterranean placing on the United Rugby Championship (URC) log means team management, notably head coach Ivan van Rooyen, are starting to feel the pinch.

Saturday's 32-10 loss to the Stormers at home is their fourth in a row, leaving them languishing in 14th position and renewed questions over the 39-year-old's position, especially after a revamped backroom staff - including experienced men in Ricardo Loubscher and Albert van den Berg - was brought in last year for the current campaign.

To his credit, Van Rooyen didn't shy away from confronting the issue.

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"We operate in a results-driven environment. Whether you win or lose, there's always going to be pressure," he said.

"It's only logical that after four successive losses the pressure gets heaped on you further. However, with the exception of the first game against the Bulls, we've felt there have been enough positives in the other matches to build on. We can get a lot better."

In mitigation, the fact that Van Rooyen and his new lieutenants only started operating as a unit three weeks before the commencement of the URC season would suggest that harbouring too lofty expectations would be a tad unrealistic.

Yet the Lions mentor believes even that can't be used as an excuse.

"We're almost seven months into our new coaching structure and it's our focus and responsibility to make the gap between expectation and actual output as narrow as possible," said Van Rooyen.

"Are we going into coaches' meetings despondent? Definitely not, but we're not blind to our failings. We know there are errors that keep getting repeated, be it skill or pressure driven. I can assure you we're