JAMES Beattie has admitted that Accrington Stanley find themselves in ‘a serious situation’ after defeat to Dagenham and Redbridge left them seven points adrift of safety.

The Reds lost 2-1 in Friday night’s League Two fixture at the Crown Ground and results a day later now leave them marooned at the bottom of the table.

Stanley have picked up only two points from their opening 10 league games and now sit six points behind second bottom Northampton – with third bottom Cheltenham a further point ahead.

Beattie admits the club have now found themselves in a difficult predicament, although he retains the belief that they can turn their fortunes around.

“We’re in a situation where we’ve got two points out of the games that we’ve played,” said the manager.

“It’s a serious situation and everybody knows that.

“But it’s what happens in that dressing room and what happens during the week, how they players conduct themselves and perform on the pitch, that’s the only thing that is going to change that.

“We speak a few home truths in the dressing room but then I come out and say we’ve got to remain positive, which we have to do.

“It’s not a lie, it’s what we’ve got to do.”

Stanley have not led a match since August 10 and Beattie was left frustrated after Shay McCartan missed a glorious chance to put them ahead against Dagenham and Redbridge on Friday.

Within a couple of minutes former Burnley forward Zavon Hines had put the visitors in front on the counter attack, before Dagenham quickly scored again in similar fashion.

“The players are disappointed,” he said.

“It’s just one of those things.

“We’ve got to address it and we need to learn lessons a lot quicker than we are doing.

“But I totally believe in them.

“The players receive accolades from all over. I get letters saying, ‘Stick with it, stick with what you’re doing’.

“I believe in it totally, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.

“There’s frustration. What I say in there is kept between the dressing room and then I’ll come out and take the blame for the performances.

“I believe that’s the right way to be and I’ve watched other managers during their careers, managers who have managed me.

“I believe that we’re doing things right, we’re so close to getting that first goal.

"It was the same old story. We had a great chance, we were in the game, we had a period of play, we didn’t capitalise and then a little bit of kamikaze defending which allowed Dagenham to score their first goal.

“If we can score first in a game then we’ll go on to win it because it will be the lift that the lads need.

“Losing is a very bad habit to have in football but I believe we can turn that on its head and winning is the best habit you can have.

“I believe that there’s enough in that dressing room to turn it round.”

Beattie named himself as a substitute on Friday for the first time since taking over as manager, but opted not to bring himself on.

“I was only ever going to bring myself on if it was for the good of the team,” he said.

“At 2-0 down I believed it was more beneficial to bring on the younger lads and the ones who could be more dynamic.”

Stanley travel to AFC Wimbledon on Saturday and Beattie admits he could consider making his first appearance of the season.

“If it’s the most beneficial move for the team for me to go on then yes I’ll do it,” he said.

A crowd of 1,751 saw the Dagenham and Redbridge match on ‘Fans Friday’, with the game brought forward a day to encourage fans from other clubs to join the regular Stanley supporters.

With only 82 visiting fans, it was the biggest turn-out in the home section for some time.

The League Cup tie with Premier League Cardiff six weeks ago drew a crowd of only 1,617.

“The extra support was heard and we were very much grateful for that,” Beattie said.

“It was a good promotion by the club. It’s just a pity that we couldn’t put on a show for them.

“But the positivity will remain from me.

“I’ve said to them you’ve got to be disappointed with getting beat because if you weren’t you shouldn’t really be a footballer.

“We’ll go at it again on Monday because I still believe we’re doing the right things during the week, we’re just not getting it quite right on a Saturday or a Friday night.

“What can I do? I’ve just got to keep going, we’ve just got to keep going.

“There are a lot of things that have changed even apart from the playing squad and on Friday there was a massive positive vibe about the club. We need that in every game we go into.

“I believe there’s enough in that dressing room to go and win two or three games on the spin.

“If we do that then we’re talking about a different scenario.”