DEFIANT Paul Groves watched Cherries suffer another demoralising defeat but then insisted there was “no chance” of him quitting.
Under-fire boss Groves answered questions on his future after he had come under increasing pressure as Cherries were made to pay for some terrible defending on their way to a 3-1 loss at Crawley Town tonight.
Cherries started brightly but again conceded too easily as first-half goals from Hope Akpan and Joe Walsh put the hosts in charge at Broadfield Stadium.
Lee Barnard gave Cherries a brief glimmer of hope but that vanished as soon as Nicky Adams had thumped home to restore the Reds’ two-goal lead.
Only some fine goalkeeping from David James prevented Cherries from further punishment as the Crawley fans taunted their counterparts with chants of ‘can we play you every week?’
Struggling Cherries are now only out of the League One relegation zone on goal difference.
When asked by BBC Radio Solent whether he would resign, Groves insisted: “In football, you don’t quit. You never quit on the pitch and you never quit off the pitch, so no chance.
“Yes, I am responsible and people come to me. But, also, those players on the pitch have to do their jobs. If they don’t do their jobs, you have to look at trying to change that round a little bit in terms of the personnel.”
Groves, who faced calls for his sacking from some of the visiting Cherries fans, admitted Cherries’ defending had not been acceptable during their latest defeat.
He added: “We were starting to grow a little bit and get in and around their box, but not really cause them enough problems.
“But two set-plays resulted in two goals. That can’t happen.
“If you hadn’t done the work and gone through the detail, then you could hold up your hands and say you hadn’t done it and had been subsequently undone.
“But last Wednesday, we spent all day doing set-plays. Before every single game, we do set-plays and go through every little bit of detail.
“We have conceded four goals in the past two games from set-plays. People are responsible for doing their jobs and you have to go through them again and again until you get it right.
“It is very difficult to accept.”
