THEY have broken the club record for consecutive losses and have one hand on the wooden spoon.
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But Newcastle Jets coach Craig Deans says his team have no option other than to stay positive and keep working hard after a 2-1 loss to Melbourne Victory in Saturday's bottom-of-the-table showdown at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The defeat was Newcastle's seventh in a row, creating an unwanted piece of club history, and allowed Victory to climb from outright last to level with the Jets on 11 competition points, although the Melburnians have an inferior goal difference.
Newcastle now face a dogfight to avoid finishing in the cellar and Dean's frustration was obvious after his troops allowed a 1-0 lead to slip on Saturday, when it appeared they were comfortably in control.
"There's no time to feel sorry for myself, or sorry for the players," Deans said.
"We've got another game on Tuesday [against Perth Glory]. We've got one training session to fix things.
"So it's not about wooden spoons ... I'd rather focus on the next game.
"We'll go and work hard and we want to win.
"There's no question we're committed and want to win. It's about believing in yourself."
With regards to the seven straight defeats, Deans said: "It is what it. That's a fact now. Can't change it."
After dominating most of the first half against Melbourne, the Jets were left ruing two defensive lapses in the second stanza.
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos opened the scoring for Newcastle in the 18th minute, finishing off neatly after lead-up play from Valentino Yuel and Roy O'Donovan.
Newcastle went to half-time 1-0 up but could have easily doubled or tripled their lead by that point.
Melbourne equalised in the 48th minute when a free kick deflected favourably into the path of defender Dylan Ryan, who headed home.
Barely four minutes later, the home team appeared to have regained the lead when Yuel nodded in after a goalmouth scramble.
But after a protracted delay, the VAR ruled no-goal because Apostolos Stamatelopoulos was offside.
Disaster struck for Newcastle in the 79th minute when skipper Nikolai Topor-Stanley turned over possession, Victory pounced and substitute Lleyton Brooks scored.
"Talking can only get you so far," Deans said. "It's about actions ... you should win that game."
Victory coach Grant Brebner said the win was a relief after losing five of their previous six games.
"It's step towards not finishing bottom, but we've got to think bigger picture than that ... we're still striving to get the best-placed finish we can get," Brebner said.
With games against Perth on Tuesday and Macarthur on Sunday, Deans will consider re-shuffling his starting line-up. Veteran Jason Hoffman looks set for a promotion off the bench.
"We've got quite a few injuries, so there's not too many options," Deans said.
"And we've got a game on Tuesday, so it's literally go in and see who's healthy and who's ready to go again on Tuesday."