Rico Lewis acknowledged that the once-dominant City side are at a loss for answers as their deepening crisis continues to unravel.
It’s been a dramatic fall from grace for the reigning Premier League champions.
Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa marked their ninth loss in 12 games, with just one win to show for their recent efforts.
He said: “There’s positives and negatives to the game. Conceding first isn’t the ideal situation.
“Even when we conceded we still had the majority of the ball which is our game. That’s what we’re built on: having the ball.
“Maybe [we could] create more chances around the box. Compared to some other games that we’ve not won or drawn, we’ve not had as much control as we had today.
“We had so much of the ball we need to create more chances.
“But it’s difficult when they drop so deep. There’s different things to put your finger on.
“But it’s just not right at the moment.”
He added: “Of course, there’s leaders in the dressing room that are natural leaders.
“They can speak, everyone listens and everyone agrees.
“But when it comes down to it, it’s not what is said in the changing room, it’s affecting the pitch and what we’re doing on the pitch.
“That’s what needs to be solved.
“Nobody is going onto the pitch saying ‘I’m not doing that’, or ‘I don’t want to win’. It’s difficult right now but we have to stick together.”
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