ESSEX Eagles Head Coach Chris Silverwood says he refuses to allow any negativity into the camp after back-to-back defeats in the last week.

Eagles have started the season well in both the County Championship and One-Day Cup but sit bottom of their T20 group ahead of this weekend’s double-header against Hampshire and Surrey.

But Silverwood said Essex are still in a buoyant mood and says everyone is focused on turning their form in the T20 Blast around this weekend.

We are in a good mood,” he said. “We were disappointed to lose against Leicestershire in the County Championship but we are allowed a bad game now and again.

“We need to put our best foot forward and we are all working hard. We are taking one step at a time and we must make sure we do the right things at the right time.

“We have two important games this weekend but they all are. We have a positive attitude and we are at our best when we have to win.

“We have looked at videos and the players know what they have to do and there are individuals you will target as you know they have the capability to take the game forward.”

Hampshire have big-hitting West Indies batsman Darren Sammy at their disposal while Surrey can turn to Kumar Sangakkara and Dwayne Bravo.

But Silverwood says he is more concerned about his team, as he looks to fight back in the T20 Blast.

“I refuse to let one defeat ruin all the hard work we have done,” he said. “We remain very confident and we learn from our mistakes and defeat. We have been good with bat and ball and we are sharp in the nets. We have worked too hard to let things fall away.”