Saskatchewan Roughriders’ head coach Corey Mace wasn’t happy with his team’s practice on Tuesday and was sure to hold his players accountable.
“We’ve just gotta approach every day like we’re trying to accomplish something. I thought it wasn’t our best day today, we didn’t meet the standard,” Mace told the media. “We’re always looking to be better each day. I thought we kinda failed at that today.”
Mace indicated that “a lot of stuff” contributed to his displeasure, citing a lack of execution and saying that practice didn’t look how it’s “supposed to look.” He reportedly halted the session twice, even calling his players into the locker room during the second stoppage.
“It was just a message that we gotta come to work, we’ve got a lot to play for, we’ve gotta prove it each day,” said Mace. “We talk about the standard that we want in this facility and I just felt we didn’t meet it really since the beginning of the day and it kinda trickled into practice and we had to address that.”
The Roughriders are on a seven-game winless skid that dates back to a late-July loss against the Montreal Alouettes. This marks the third straight year that Saskatchewan has gone ice-cold late in the year, though the two previous collapses occurred before Mace took over as head coach.
The first-year head coach felt his team practiced at a high level on Monday and said he’s interested to see how his players respond after a poor showing on Tuesday.
“It’s an opportunity for the guys to lean on each other and rally and hold each other accountable,” said Mace. “I’m excited for tomorrow.”
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-7-1) will visit the Calgary Stampeders (4-8-1) on Friday, Sept. 20 with kickoff slated for 9:30 p.m. EDT.
