DEAN Holdsworth has vowed to fight on as County manager, insisting he has no intention of quitting, writes Andrew Penman.

The knives were out for Holdsworth at Spytty Park on Saturday, with many supporters calling for his head after the shocking 5-1 reverse to Hayes & Yeading, but disappointed as he was by the performance, he claimed he would not give in to the pressure.

“I’m hurting as much as anyone else but the chairman is behind me and we’ll get through this,” said the Exiles boss.

“There is no magic formula to get through tough times but I’ll keep trying to do the right thing and I’ll work my socks off.

“There is no way I’ll walk away. I don’t do that. I think too much of the players.”

Speaking after his side had conceded four goals in a woeful second half, an emotional Holdsworth was at a loss to explain the performance.

“They were better than us in the second half, simple as that,” he said.

“There are no excuses for the way we played. Our defenders didn’t defend, their midfield was better than ours and their forwards were better than our defenders.

“They are the first team we’ve played since I’ve been here who I can honestly say are better than us.

“I believe we have one of the best players in the division in Craig Reid but we can’t expect to win games defending like that. It was unacceptable.

“There is no rhyme or reason for what happened after the break. It’s a shock. I didn’t expect it.”

With tough trips to Havant & Waterlooville on Saturday and Maidenhead the following Tuesday things don’t get any easier for County any time soon and Holdsworth knows there is work to do on the training pitch.

“We’ve got to react to this now,” he said. “We can blame illnesses and injuries but the players need to get some steel inside them.

“The only way to change things is to work hard. We’ll have to go back to basics again because we’ve got some tough games coming up but I’ll make sure we stick together.”