Jim Mallinder: 'Northampton Saints not a long way off'

Northampton Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder has insisted that his team are not far away from regaining their Championship-winning form of a couple of years ago.

His side lost a hard-fought encounter with Saracens on Saturday, with Owen Farrell scoring all 12 points for the visitors.

However, Mallinder is adamant that key decisions went against his team during the game at Franklin's Gardens.

"We are not a long way off," he told reporters. "I know we have had a disappointing start, but we are not going to be pressing the panic button. We know what we need to do, and we can get better.

"We did pretty well at times today. It was a very closely-contested first half, and we were probably unfortunate to go in 6-3 down, there were some real crucial decisions that went against us.

"You have got to be really accurate when you play Saracens and you have to take your opportunities. They play in a certain way, but it is so difficult to beat, as we and other teams have found out."

Saints have now won only one of their opening four games.