Saracens head coach Mark McCall has claimed his side “just weren’t good enough” after they suffered their second defeat of the Premiership campaign in losing to Exeter Chiefs.

Nic White and Jacques Vermuelen both crossed for the hosts at Sandy Park as Saracens could only manage to rescue a losing bonus with a last-minute penalty try.

It was a frustrating afternoon for McCall’s men and they remain on -12 points at the bottom of the table, 18 points adrift of second-from-bottom Leicester Tigers.

“It feels like we had a lot of time close to their goal line, especially at the end of the first half and various times in the second half,” McCall said.

“We just weren't good enough to capitalise on some of that field position and some of the opportunities five metres out.”

The pattern of the match saw, in large part, Saracens’ attacks continually repelled by a superbly determined and resolute home defensive effort.

Alongside that, Rob Baxter’s men also added to their solidity with impressive attacking flair which consistently threatened, and eventually overwhelmed, the Saracens defence.

Perhaps of greatest surprise though was the particularly respectful welcome from Exeter fans that met the Saracens players when they stepped out onto the Sandy Park turf, and McCall continued in that vein by praising the performance of the home side.

He added: “They [Exeter] defended brilliantly all game but if you're going to come away from home and be successful you need to take advantage of some of those chances.”