A deeply disappointed Karl Robinson asked Salford City supporters to direct their frustration at him rather than his players as his side fell to a fifth straight defeat against Shrewsbury Town.
Salford took the lead in the second minute of first-half stoppage time when Shrewsbury goalkeeper Matthew Cox pushed a mis-hit Ryan Graydon volley against Luca Hoole and the ball rebounded off the centre-back into his own net.
But Shrewsbury levelled six minutes after the break when Tom Sang picked out the bottom corner from the edge of the box and completed the turnaround after 76 minutes when Will Boyle fired a low shot past Matthew Young.
Throughout Robinson’s time at Salford City, his larger-than-life personality has shone through in his post-match press conferences, but he cut a forlorn figure speaking to the press inside an empty Peninsula Stadium.
“Come for me. Please. Not my players,” he urged Salford fans who were visibly aggrieved by the team’s 2-1 defeat at full-time.
“I’m the manager and I’m the one who will stand there and I’ll protect them. But internally, we have to learn and we have to be better.
“Once again, we lose a match that we had complete control of in 10 minutes and then regain control too late.
“This team will turn it around. We are good enough to go on a run of 10 games – I am 100 per cent confident about that.”
With the scores level midway through the second half, Josh Austerfield rattled the crossbar and Ben Woodburn had an effort cleared off the line.
Robinson was left rueing his side’s misfortune on a night when they failed to make ground on their play-off rivals.
“Things just aren’t dropping. But then, at the same time, things have to change in how we defend. It’s almost like that’s my man, that’s my man in here,” he said.
“For instance, three players run across someone who’s going to compete, leaving someone unmarked in the box who scores. That happened to us in the last minute. We had a touch and their lad tackled him in the 96th minute.
“I’ll take responsibility. One can stay spare if you need a numerical advantage in certain areas. And we deal with it in a very calm, aggressive manner.”
