Newport County boss Christian Fuchs insists his side remain capable of matching any team in League Two, despite a run of just one win from their last five games, against clubs primarily pushing for promotion.
Despite his side sitting bottom of the football league, Fuchs remains confident that his squad can still influence their own fate as the season enters a crucial phase.
"The way we played over that stretch of five games was very competitive. I didn't feel we were misplaced or outplayed in any of them. We played our fair part and could have come away from every game with something," he said.
"Football-wise, we can compete against anybody. We know the league can change very quickly from one week to the other.
"Based on the games we've played so far, we still have it in our own hands. A good run of two or three games and the table looks completely different. It's important for us to have this life-line."
County's most recent league outing ended in a 2-0 defeat to Cambridge United, who broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute through Liam Bennett before doubling their lead just three minutes later.
Fuchs described that spell as "disappointing" and echoed assistant Mark Smith's call for players to show greater resilience and not feel "sorry for themselves".
"It's something we've addressed, and unfortunately it has been the story of our season," Fuchs said.
"When you go a goal down, that's when you need to push yourself even more and not put your head down. Feeling sorry for yourself should not be in the vocabulary in this business.
"You just need to go again and again. We still had 30 minutes to play. Some teams go 1-0 down in a Champions League final and turn it around in extra time. It happens, you just have to keep believing and push forward."
The former Premier League winner says his side must improve at both ends of the pitch if they want results to match their performances.
"The game could have gone in a different direction, but we weren't good enough in finishing the chances that presented themselves," Fuchs said.
"They're a good team, very composed, made a lot of right decisions and barely lost the ball. They created chances, but many of them were half-chances or shots from outside the box. I was pleased with our defensive performance for large stretches."
Despite his side's precarious position, Fuchs retains full belief in his players.
"If was to work with a team right now that actually walks away without any faith in themselves, without any belief that they can make something happen, that would be tough," he said.
"But we created chances that should be goals. There's a lot of belief in the team."
Fuchs will be hoping his team play with this belief to produce a "different story" when they travel to Fleetwood Town on Saturday 28 February (1500 GMT) looking to avenge their previous 2-0 defeat to the Fisherman in December.
