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gallagher-prime minister
Leicester head coach Geoff Parling believes there is still plenty of room for improvement after their 24-19 win Newcastle at Kingston Park.
The hosts took the lead through Obi Ene, but Leicester regained control to take a 17-5 lead into the break as Samiuela Moli and Adam Radwan both crossed and Billy Searle kicked a penalty.
In a closely contested second half, George McGuigan scored for Newcastle before Will Hurd raced over from close range to extend the Tigers’ lead.
However, the guests were forced to hang on until the end like Cam Jordan went over and Parling revealed there were mixed feelings in the dressing room after the match.
“There’s a lot of room for improvement,” he said.
“The feeling in the dressing room is probably one of disappointment, which is great for me, and a sense of frustration.
“Jack (Van Poortvliet) and (Joe) Heyes were just talking about celebrating the win because it’s important and like I said, it’s going to be a tough place to come during the season but also very frustrating knowing there’s a lot more in us.”
The win was Leicester’s first of the campaign following back-to-back defeats in the Prem Rugby Cup at the start of December, followed by a narrow defeat to Saracens in their opening match against Prem.
The Tigers have been dealing with a growing injury list but Parling insisted there are “no excuses” ahead of the home clash against Gloucester next friday.
“It’s difficult in terms of some bodies, but we got that disappointment in the dressing room after the win, it’s a great sign,” he added.
“We have a group that wants to go and work and are looking forward to coming home next week against Gloucester, who have had a very good start to the season.
“We lacked a little bit of that cohesion at times, but there are no excuses.”
Newcastle boss Dan McFarland admitted his side “were not precise enough” in certain areas as they slumped to a second straight defeat against Prem.
“I’m really disappointed to be honest because it’s a game we could have won,” he said.
“I’m really happy with the way we approached the game. I thought we were full of effort, full of energy and, most importantly, full of the effort we wanted to put in, in terms of our ambition and the way we wanted to play.
“Unfortunately, we were not precise enough in key areas, but that will grow.
“We’ve got to keep believing in what we’re trying to do and the way we’re trying to play.
“The way we try to play is not boring. It requires us to understand a lot about each other and the way we play.
“It takes a little time and today we were not where we wanted to be.”c
