Northampton Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder has insisted that he is proud of his players despite their 17-16 loss at Saracens on Sunday.
The Saints were beaten for the fifth time in the Aviva Premiership this season as they went down by a single point at Stadium MK.
"The lads gave everything and it was a tremendous effort from them," Mallinder told Sky Sports News. "I'm very proud. It went down to the wire. We just didn't get the bounce of the ball.
"We'd like to be top of the league like every single club, but we're realistic and know that we haven't played as well as we'd have liked in every game."
The defeat has seen Northampton slip down to sixth place in the table.
