PARIS - Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc has challenged his players to face up to themselves following Saturdays 4-2 defeat at Bastia, citing their lack of mental strength and criticizing their propensity to give up at the slightest difficulty. Nike NFL Jerseys China .Despite boasting one of the best strikers in the world in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and five players costing €40 million ($47 million) or more, PSG has lost two and drawn one of its last three league matches to slip to fourth place in the French title race.Poor defending, a lack of aggression in midfield, ill-discipline and fragile team spirit has blighted PSG this season.Saturdays loss came after PSG led 2-0 inside 20 minutes. Prior to the winter break, PSG lost 1-0 at struggling Guingamp, a team with a minute budget compared to PSGs.At the slightest difficulty, we give up ... There is a mental problem, Blanc said. When it comes to the mental aspect, it can affect everyone. Its very hard for a coach.The pressure is on PSG and Blanc ahead of Tuesdays League Cup quarterfinal away to Saint-Etienne, which is in third place in the French league, boasts a strong home record, and knocked PSG out of the competition at the same stage two seasons ago.The (coaching) staff has accepted responsibility, Blanc told a news conference Monday. The players havent taken things on board yet. Theyre the ones who are playing. When they play well, they get praised, and deservedly so. When results are bad, the coachs (tactics) are questioned.After a scrappy 3-1 win against Ajax in the Champions League in late November, Blanc gave assurances that his team would improve significantly in the ensuing weeks.The opposite happened. A 3-1 loss at Barcelona was followed by the Guingamp defeat and a tepid 0-0 draw against Montpellier that left home fans glum-faced.Blanc said he felt anger after the Bastia defeat and considers his players lucky to have a chance to make amends so soon after, so long as they beat Saint-Etienne.PSG headed into the winter break in third place behind Lyon and league leader Marseille.Despite fielding eight homegrown players in its starting lineup, cash-strapped Lyon now tops the league — four points clear of big-spending PSG after 20 games — prompting fears of another upset. In the 2011-12 campaign, PSG lost the title to unheralded Montpellier, despite leading Montpellier by three points at the winter break.Preparations for the second half of the season started badly when Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani — the clubs most expensive signing at €64 million ($75.4 million) — and Argentina winger Ezequeil Lavezzi failed to turn up for training camp.Blanc, Frances former national team coach, dropped them from the squad for the past two games and excluded them from training. They have resumed training, but Blanc again left them out for the trip to Saint-Etienne.He has pledged to be tougher with his players in order to eradicate a culture of special favours reserved for certain big names at the club. Ibrahimovic, for example, was allowed to return to his native Sweden to go hunting, when he was recovering from a heel injury, and was rarely seen cheering on his teammates at Parc des Princes.Ibrahimovics negative body language against Bastia and the poor discipline shown by Cavani and Lavezzi, underlines a fragile team spirit and highlights increasing tensions within the star-studded squad.Blanc has not ruled out buying or selling during Januarys transfer window, but says everyone waits until the last minute before doing business. Wholesale Authentic NFL Jerseys From China . -- Keith Aulie has joined the Tampa Bay Lightning. Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys . LOUIS -- Russell Martin wanted a better fate for his starting pitcher and helped deliver a happier ending. http://www.authenticnflwholesalejerseys.com/ . - Zac Leslie scored two goals and assisted on two more, and Justin Nichols made 34 saves as the Guelph Storm blanked the Kitchener Rangers 6-0 in Ontario Hockey League action on Sunday.After having their win streak snapped Sunday, the Toronto Raptors hope to hand the Atlanta Hawks the same fate this evening. Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 starting at 7:30pm et. The Raptors had a two-game winning streak halted Sunday afternoon when the Phoenix Suns flew north of the border and left with a 121-113 victory. The Hawks carry a four-game winning streak into action against the Atlantic Division-leaders at Philips Arena. Kyle Lowry finished with 28 points and 13 assists against the Suns, while Terrence Ross and Amir Johnson donated 22 and 20 points, respectively, for the Raptors, who have won five of their last seven. DeMar DeRozan netted 17 and Jonas Valanciunas added 15 for Toronto, which allowed the Suns to shoot 50.7 percent from the field. "Every night this time of the year the physicality gets bigger and as a result you get upsets since the stakes are higher," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "We have to play physically on defence and offence and take care of ourselves. We cant expect officials to bail you out." Despite the setback, the Raptors are three games clear of the Brooklyn Nets for the lead in the Atlantic Division. Toronto is one game in front of the Chicago Bulls for the third seed in the Eastern Conference and will complete this short rroad trip Wednesday night in New Orleans versus the Pelicans. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping. . The Hawks havent lost in 10 days and the run includes two home wins and two road wins. On Monday, the Hawks extended the streak with a 97-83 road drubbing of the Charlotte Bobcats. That victory got Atlanta within 1 1/2 games of those Bobcats for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Paul Millsap netted 28 points and the Hawks continued their recent dominance over the Bobcats. Mondays win was the 11th consecutive for Atlanta over its Southeast Division rivals. Pero Antic tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta. Kyle Korver and Mike Scott donated 10 points apiece, and Jeff Teague handed out a game-high nine assists. The Hawks were eight points clear at the start of the fourth quarter, but a 14-4 spurt to start the final frame put the game away. DeMarre Carroll scored all nine of his points during that run. "DeMarre really sets the tone for us," said Atlanta head coach Mike Budenholzer. "With his activity and his energy, everybody kind of feeds off that." Toronto and Atlanta have split two matchups this season with the home team surviving each time. The Hawks are 14-4 in their last 18 against the Raptors and 9-2 in the previous 11 meetings as the host in this series. ' ' '