Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder concedes Saints' unconvincing 14-7 win at Leeds was an ugly victory.
Saints boss disappointed with his side's display
Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder concedes Saints' unconvincing 14-7 win at Leeds was an ugly victory.
The visitors created plenty of chances but failed to take them and only sealed their win with a Ben Foden try three minutes from the end.
Leeds, meanwhile, delivered a gritty display to secure a valuable bonus point as they continue their fight against relegation.
Options
"It was not a good performance. We were not at our best but we've come away and got the job done," said Mallinder.
"We tried to force too much ball. We should have kept playing, one more ruck, one more phase, and looked after the ball more.
"The pitch at ours is much wider and we go through the phases, today we didn't get our options right."
England international Foden gave a notable performance and his last-gasp try was fully deserved.
"Ben is a class player, he is very dangerous and it was a class pick-up to finish," added Mallinder.
"He made a couple of quality runs in the first half but some very good last-ditch tackling prevented him from getting fully away."
Mallinder had nothing but praise for the battling Leeds side, adding: "They do the basics well and are a difficult side to break down.
"They have a strong scrum and line-out and a competitive back row and I think
they will survive in Premiership this season."
Leeds boss Andy Key, however, was frustrated with his side's defeat.
"We beat ourselves - we could have won but we made too many unnecessary errors," added Key.
Saints fly-half Stephen Myler missed the conversion which would have denied Leeds the bonus point, and Key believes his side can still avoid relegation.
Deserved
"We deserved a point, you could say we lost three as for stages of the game we deserved to win," he said.
"We didn't take our opportunities in the first half and those will come back to haunt the players.
"We are still confident that we will remain in the Premiership."