Linnets boss: ‘Have a go at me all day because I’m the manager and I’ve got to accept responsibility for the performances and results’

King’s Lynn Town manager Adam Lakeland took “full responsibility” for the team’s 4-0 defeat to Curzon Ashton in the National League on Tuesday night.The Linnets have managed one win in their last 11 games and the pressure grows on the manager following the 4-0 drubbing by his former club.The 39-year-old has been in charge of the club for less than five months after taking over from Mark Hughes last September.Lakeland said: “It wasn’t good enough and I’ll take full responsibility, I’m the manager and when you’re in this position and you get beat like that at home, you’ve got to take it on the chin.”It’s not good enough and I feel for the players to an extent because it’s not a lack of effort.”Lynn are now in serious trouble towards the bottom of the table – but Lakeland believes he is the right man for the job.“I said from the word go this was going to be tough. I’m tougher than most. And I’ll ride it out.“I would rather the supporters have a go at me if they’re frustrated. Have a go at me all day because I’m the manager and I’ve got to accept responsibility for the performances and the results.“Yes, the players have to as well, and I do think that they’ve let us down a little bit tonight, but I’m the manager and it’s the nature of the beast.“You know if you get beat 4-0 at home, you expect fingers to be pointed and you expect big questions to be asked.“I’d think that there was something wrong if they weren’t questioning me and the performance today, but I can assure them that there’ll be nobody working harder and we will keep going and we will do our very, very best to turn it around.”Sometimes one win, as daft as it sounds, can lift a lot of weight off players, and then they can perform like different people. and I feel that’s where we’re at.”But games are ticking by and we’ve we’ve not managed to get that win and the longer that happens probably the worse our position gets and the more entitled people are to question my position.”Lynn have played more games than any other side in and around the drop zone and Lakeland says he will leave no stone unturned in a bid to pull off the great escape.”All I can do is continue to do my job and work the hardest I can work every day,” he said.“I’ve never done anything different than that from when I started managing at the age of 20 at Blackburn Rovers ladies.“Every single day I’ve outworked most people, that’s just what I do and I’m not going to do anything any different.“I’ve had success everywhere I’ve been – if we can manage to survive this season, without a shadow of a doubt, it’ll be my biggest achievement in football and I’ve won league titles before.”Lynn’s boss admitted that more signings are needed if the club are to stave off the serious threat of relegation.”We’re going to have to bring more players in if we are to stay in this league,” he said.”I’m out watching games as often as it can be. We’ve identified some really good players and we’ve spoken to some good players who would have come here and done well for us.”But we’ve not managed to get them and I think part of that is the situation that we’re currently in.”Lakeland had no qualms in letting Josh Barrett leave the club for Aldershot earlier in the week and put the record straight on the playmaker’s departure from the Walks..“He’s not what we need and people who think he is are kidding themselves,” said Lakeland.“He’s a great lad. I have a lot of time for him. He’s probably one of the most naturally talented individuals I’ve had the pleasure of working with.”But he just hasn’t got the physical output that’s required at this level of football.” And when you’re in the position that we’re in, there’s no way we would have got a point at Buxton, with an hour of 10 men, or come from behind at Hereford, which is one of the hardest places in the league to go, with him in the team.“And anybody who disputes that, I’ll have an argument with them all day long about it.“He expressed from the day that I came into the club that his preference was to leave and I need people that are fully committed to King’s Lynn.”We obviously got him in the team and he was doing okay, then he got himself injured in training, was out for five weeks and we’ve tried, we’ve put out a couple of circulars to line up as many options for him as we could and we had no takers, other than the previous manager.”And that’s the fact. Anybody who thinks that I don’t know what I’m doing because I’ve allowed Josh Barrett to leave, they’re kidding themselves.“I’ll probably get pelters for saying that as well, but it’s the truth. And again, I reiterate, nothing against Josh. I hope he goes and does well, but I’ve made the right decision for the football club.”