Melbourne coach Paul Roos lamented his players’ deplorable kicking for goal after the Demons stumbled to a nine-point loss at the hands of Essendon on Saturday.

Roos’ side had 13 more inside 50s and six more scoring shots against the Bombers but kicked a wasteful 7.18 to slip to their 10th loss of the season.

“I think we had a couple of out of bounds on the full as well so we probably had two or three more shots than what the scoreboard indicated,” Roos said.

“It’s just practice and executing under pressure, and also being in that position.

“Probably when you haven’t won a lot over the last 18 months, maybe the pressure mounts a little bit more than on a team that’s won a bit more.

“So it’s a combination of a lot of things.”

Roos refused to point the finger of blame at particular players inside forward 50 and added that the delivery inside the attacking zone hadn’t helped his forwards.

But while Melbourne’s inability to hit the scoreboard cost them a game many had tipped them to win, Roos remained upbeat about his side’s form line that has seen them suffer two losses since their stirring upset win over Geelong.

“You’re disappointed you’re not winning because that’s what keeps confidence up and it keeps everyone engaged around the footy club,” he said.

“If we’d played really poorly today, I’d sit here and say we did and I’d tell the players that.

“There was times we did but the reality is you kick 7.18, it’s really difficult to win a game of football.

“So I think we’re still playing better than we have been but it’s just that inability to win games that gets frustrating.”