Stuart Massey has called for honesty as Carshalton Athletic slip ever closer to the Ryman Premier League trapdoor.
The Robins lost 1-0 to AFC Hornchurch at Colston Avenue on Tuesday night leaving them bottom of the table, and 14 points adrift from safety with seven games to play.
Since Massey took over in January, he has presided over three wins and 12 defeats.
And further home defeats against Enfield Town this weekend and Grays on Tuesday could seal the Robins’ fate.
Massey said: “Survival is still possible, yes, but it does no good to just keep saying we can get out of trouble.
“We have to be honest about the situation and say it’s a big ask.”
He added: “We’ll aim to get seven positive results, but I’ll be more than happy if I see my lads continue to play at the same kind of intensity which earned us two wins in March.”
Massey was pleased with his side’s endeavour against Hornchurch despite being without regulars Bobby Price and Jason Goodchild.
“Everyone out there competed well against a club sitting in the play-offs and that's what I'm talking about," he added. "Unfortunately we gave away a soft goal and its ultimately proved decisive, something we need to work on."
Carshalton ended up with 10 men on Tuesday as Stefan Cox received two late bookings, for dissent and then a trip, but Massey felt perplexed by the decision.
“Stefan was silly and I don't condone his actions but neither incident is comparable to an overenthusiastic two-footed tackle Adriano Moraes received in the first-half,” he said.
“I don’t want to see any player get sent off but their guy only got booked. It all seemed a bit inconsistent to me.”
The Ryman League transfer deadline came and went on Monday with Robins adding three new faces, including striker Matt Marshall, while midfielder Rhys Coleman joined Croydon Athletic.
“Matt has pro experience and has also played Spanish league football. We’ve given him a trial and I think he'll be a good acquisition once fully fit,” Massey said.
“I didn’t want Rhys to leave but he received a great offer and it's closer to where he lives, so he went with my blessing.”
