There has been finger pointing and soul searching in the Chiefs camp this week ahead of their clash with the top of the table Crusaders this weekend.
Colin Cooper admits there's a bit of soul searching going on inside Chiefs camp.
After kicking off their Super Rugby campaign with a 30-27 loss to the Highlanders at home, things got progressively worse for Cooper's men as they then leaked 54 to the Brumbies and, most notably, got outclassed by the Sunwolves 30-15 in Hamilton, handing the Japanese-based side first away win in franchise history.
Unsurprisingly, there has been finger pointing both from inside and outside the team after thier 0-3 start, with a lot of them seemingly directed at Cooper who is currently in his second year of a three-year deal with the franchise.
The 60-year-old says he's been in situations like this before and is determined to keep his head down and stay focussed on the task ahead.
"[I've] been here a few times," said Cooper about being feeling the pressure as a coach. "It's just about staying calm and staying with them and keeping them together and making sure we don't have little splinters going around – which people will poke at you and say you're not doing this and this well. It's just brushing that aside and really staying strong together."
Chiefs head coach Colin Cooper. Photo / Photosport
While the message from Chiefs upper management seems to be in full support of Cooper for now, the experienced head coach didn't mince words when giving his assessment on the predicament his side finds themselves in.
"Yeah it's been bit of finger pointing and soul searching and we're in a hole basically," he said.
"We're 3-0 down and we don't like it. It's uncomfortable, it's disappointing. So we got to look at how we can get out of that."
Cooper says the team needs to go back to getting the basics right, something which has been lacking in their horror start to the season.
"[There's] probably more focus on...how we lost a lot of ball and why did we use it and areas that we need to retain the ball.
"I mean you can't blame the defence when you can't keep the ball and we spend a lot of time defending because we kept turning the ball over.
"We know we can't do that against the Crusaders so we just got to treasure the ball and just gone back to a bit of the basics."
The Sunwolves celebrate their victory against the Chiefs. Photo / Photosport
It isn't getting any easier either for the Chiefs as they face the defending champions in Christchurch this Saturday followed by a tricky clash against the Hurricanes at home.
The good news for Cooper is that he will have an almost full-strength side available this week, barring any injuries between now and the weekend.
"All the injured guys are back, all the All Blacks are back...apart from long-term injuries, everyone else that's been having niggles is back.
"That would be great. We've got a long week to go yet. Last week we lost a player so that's just the nature of the beast I guess."
Cooper says he's also encouraged by way the players, particularly the leadership group, have reacted to their disappointing start.
"I think we got particularly Sam Cane, even though he's not playing, he's having a big influence on helping our mindset and making sure together him and I and Brodie [Retallick] are keeping the group tight.
"We've got really good leaders. The players have taken on that responsibility along with the coaches. And as I said we're in a bit of a hole and we just need to make sure everyone is united and understanding. We're working really hard together to get the whole group out of it."
