The thoughts of Grantham Town manager Nathan Arnold ahead of two crunch clashes for his relegation-threatened side
Manager Nathan Arnold insists his relegation-threatened Grantham Town side won't give up the fight for survival.
The Gingerbreads are currently 11 points adrift of safety with nine matches of the Northern Premier League Midlands Division campaign remaining.
After being without a game at the weekend, they now face three crunch clashes in the space of seven days.
They travel to fellow relegation contenders Rugby Town on Saturday before making the trip to 17th-placed Coventry Sphinx on Tuesday night.
That's followed by a home match with Hinckley next weekend with Arnold insisting that his side will be giving their all in the battle to beat the drop.
He said: "We will keep going until it is mathematically impossible.
"We have to keep fighting and believing.
"It's easy at this stage to go under but I don't want this group to do that.
"It's not what I'm about or what the football club is about.
"There are some fantastic people at this football club and fans cheered us off after the last game despite a 3-1 defeat away from home.
"The character that the supporters have shown and the love they have for this football club is infectious.
"What we have to do as a group of players is reflect that in our work-rate, not only when we're in training or matches, but how we operate and act out of football.
"There are so many things that I feel are within our control that we can do better, both on and off the pitch, and that will be reinforced."
Grantham last won a league match on October 19 when two goals from Lewis Darlington secured a 2-1 home victory over Coventry Sphinx.
They go into the triple bill of games having lost 3-1 at Racing Club Warwick in their last league outing.
Despite taking the lead through a Ben Richards goal, Warwick hit back to equalise before scoring twice in the second half.
Arnold added: "I felt there were probably four or five players who were well short of where they had been.
"I was honest and addressed it in the changing room.
"I praise them when they deserve it and we'll have an honest conversation when a few are under it.
"That's probably a reflection of where we've been.
"We were two games unbeaten before last Saturday and were trying to gain some momentum.
"We scored the first goal, our tails were up and we were confident but then we made some really poor choices.
"It was just basic stuff and Warwick won the game because they did the basics really well which is the frustration for us.
"Maybe it is a reflection of how young we are with naivety and lack of experience.
"I am the manager and I am responsible and we are where we are for a reason.
"The painful thing was we had an opportunity to pull three results together which hasn't been done all season.
"I don't think it was ever going to be something that happens overnight. There is no quick fix or resolution.
"We've huffed and puffed in games and looked a decent team in spells and we'll be really competitive but I think we beat ourselves against Warwick."
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