West Coast Eagles coach Adam Simpson says they do not want any sympathy as an under-strength side slipped to a 55-point derby defeat against Fremantle on Sunday.
The Eagles are priced at 6/1 to make the top eight but face an uphill battle after losing their opening three games of the 2022 AFL season.
Huge changes
Simpson has been without a host of star players due to injury and illness but he was not willing to make any excuses following the crushing loss at Optus Stadium.
The Eagles boss believes the situation is just temporary and says they do not want people feeling sorry for them as they battle through troubled times.
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"It’s a hard one to assess," Simpson said about the loss to Fremantle. "We’re pretty disjointed at the moment but we don’t want anyone feeling sorry for us or making excuses.
"We are battling to get that synergy as I suspected today. There were moments where we looked pretty connected, but there were a lot of moments where Fremantle outworked us and beat us with fundamentals. We looked pretty poor at stages there."
Embrace the situation
Meanwhile Simpson says they are not feeling sorry for themselves and will use the situation to unite the playing group even more.
"That’s a challenge and one that we’re up for," Simpson added. "They’re not excuses, they’re reasons, but I think we could have played better.
"You don’t have to win every week, but our effort and intensity was probably a little bit inconsistent. I don’t want to just put it down to the fact that we had 10 guys coming back from illness.”
