Sammy Arnold says everyone at Connacht Rugby needs to be accountable after Saturday's disappointing United Rugby Championship defeat to the Glasgow Warriors.
The Scottish side dealt a huge blow to Connacht's hopes of a place in next season's Heineken Champions Cup with a dominant 42-20 win against the province at the Sportsground on Saturday.
It's a third defeat in a row for Andy Friend's side, who are now nine points adrift of their nearest provincial rival Munster, having played a game more.
And it puts even more pressure on the 2016 champions ahead of this Friday night's crucial Interpro against Ulster, as they look to close some ground in the URC's 'Irish Shield'.
"I think we have certainly made it hard for ourselves," said Arnold, who scored the first of Connacht's two tries on Saturday.
"We have played a few more interpros than the other teams so hopefully we can claw a few points back maybe after the break.
"There has to be a reaction next week, we know that. We had a big crowd there on Saturday; we just completely let them down and that is the most important part. There has to be a reaction.
"I don't think our season rides on it so to speak, but there has to be an emotional reaction.
"We have got to go up there – we have to go up there and win."
Connacht's inconsistency was once again exposed against the Warriors, as they fell to a fifth defeat from nine games this season.
Even their weaknesses have proved inconsistent; in their defeats to Stade Francais and Leicester Tigers their scrum was badly exposed, but that setpiece was one of the few areas that functioned well against the Scottish side last weekend.
This time, their lineout failed on several occasions during the first half, while they consistently found themselves overpowered in both attack and defence.
"It seems to be something different (going wrong) every week and that is the most frustrating part.
"It has got to be our breakdown and our collisions (that improve). When you strip it all back it is a very simple game.
"Glasgow won all the collisions today and played off that fast ball and scored. We can make it complicated if we want but if we are not going to win collisions, we are not going to win.
"Everyone is a bit down, it was pretty terrible for us, everyone just has to go away and look at themselves individually.
"We have a six day turnaround before Ulster and there are a few things that need to be addressed immediately," Arnold added.
The 25-year-old is heading into his final six months as a Connacht player, having signed a three-year deal with French club Brive starting next season.
The England-born centre began his career at this week's opponents Connacht, before spending four seasons at Munster prior to joining Connacht in 2020.
And he says he's determined to make his final half-season count, adding he can see himself back at the Sportsground again before the end of his career.
"This has been the most enjoyable two seasons of my career so far and obviously I haven’t been with the national team for a few years now and the move to France was something that I just could not say no to.
"I’d like to, if the opportunity was to arise in the next few years, come back to Connacht.
"I have a lot of time for everyone in this environment."
