Manager John Sheridan cannot fault the work ethic from his players but wants them to be better in possession of the ball.
Latics fell to defeat last night against MK Dons courtesy of a goal from Nicky Maynard in the sixth minute of additional time.
Speaking about the game, Sheridan said: "It’s football. We played on Saturday and we scored a late goal so you’ve just got to keep going until the final whistle.
"I’m not going to look for excuses, I don’t think we played very well but again we looked really solid. Connor Ripley has had nothing to do but we weren’t really a threat.
"It was a dogged performance but I want us to be a lot better on the ball. We defended when we had to defend against a good footballing side but it’s just the killer punch at the end.
"It’s a good goal to be fair but I’m gutted we didn’t get that point after a good scrappy performance.
"I would have been happy with a point as it would have got us out the bottom four but we didn’t do much with the ball. I’d like us to be much better on the ball.
“I know we have a good workmanlike side who put in a good shift, you could see that again tonight, but we need to be adventurous a bit more.
“We need to be a bit more attack minded, positive and believe we can cause teams problems.
“Out of the two games, we have three points and I would have taken one win but a point tonight would have been good."
Athletic now have back-to-back home games coming up and Sheridan has set his sights on maximum points from both encounters.
“It’s a big game for us but also for Coventry as well,” he commented. "We have to win our games at home but if we can pick up points away then that’s a bonus.
"We have got to hit back and get three points from Saturday. If we keep taking six points from every three games we play then we will be alright.
“Saturday is a tough game, we are playing against a team who people think might be three points but it won’t be.
"They’ve got some good players and a good manager so it’s a tough game. We are at home, though, and I expect us to go for it.”
Watch the full interview on Latics PlayerHD.