Valerien Ismael insists Blackburn Rovers still believe they can make the Championship top-six but reiterated his need to relieve that pressure from the players.
Rovers have given themselves an uphill task to make the play-offs after a terrible week. Three defeats against teams battling relegation has seen them fall five points adrift with an inferior goal difference to most.
Their extended form of four wins in 18 has placed plenty of doubts about Rovers' ability to string a run together after the international break. They would probably need six wins from their last eight to stand a chance.
Ismael rejected claims there was a lack of belief at the club but did not want to focus on the top-six as a final aim.
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"Yes, the belief is there. I think that today we play with more and more belief. Today I saw a team who was convinced to play," Ismael said.
"I told the players before the game that we have to accept now that we will have more of the ball and we need to accept and it's something good because this is what I want to see as well.
"So we step forward. For sure it's better when you win the game that you have more clarity but this is the positive side I take from the game. Now it's just step by step. The first thing now is to see the squad, who is available and we go from there.
"I don't think that is a good pressure to put under pressure at the minute. The thing to do is to be focused on the next game as I say. The top six is at the end of the season.
"To get there you need your best player on the pitch, you need the best squad. If you are not all the players available then at some point it will be difficult and this is a reality, this is a fact on the table.
"If I got all the players available and you get some result like that then for sure we can discuss about that but we have some circumstances and as a team like us it's just painful."
Rovers' results against bottom clubs this season have been a reoccurring problem. They have lost to Plymouth, Stoke, Derby, Oxford and Hull, who are fighting the drop.
Ismael believes, therefore, the last week was a reflection of a longer-standing issue and the injuries they have suffered.
"Maybe it's another deep problem that was already there before. Yes, you lose at Derby but Derby won again, three games in a row now," he said.
"It was not a bad team at that time on the position but you see on the pitch they still have the quality.
"Today was a difficult one because we were really under control but very dangerous, especially in the first half. You see in the second half it's more some players started getting tired and now you need the bench to have the impact and we didn't have that impact."
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