Louis van Gaal said he is not in control of his Manchester united future after a surprise 2-1 home defeat by Norwich City, but the under-pressure coach has called on the players and supporters to "stick together."
Van Gaal's side slipped to a third consecutive defeat in all competitions as Norwich left Manchester with all three points on Saturday, with goals from Cameron Jerome and Alex Tettey either side of half-time proving enough for the Canaries despite a reply from Anthony Martial.
United left the field to boos after failing to win for a sixth game in succession in a damaging run that has placed question marks over Van Gaal's future, and seen the club slip to fifth in the table after Tottenham's win at Southampton.
But the Dutch coach said a united front is needed, telling BBC Sport: "I can say a lot of things but every word is too much I think. You can see what confidence is doing to the players.
"Now it's very important that everybody sticks together, but that was not good enough today. We have to win against Norwich and we know that."
Van Gaal went on to tell Sky Sports: "That's the football world. I know that, my board knows that, my players know that. We're not used to [the pressure] because normally we win, so it's a difficult period.
"We've lost three matches in a row so it's not happening so much for Manchester United. We can't accept that and that's why I have to repeat, we have to stick together and believe in ourselves.
"I've encountered these circumstances also with other teams and other staff. The main thing is that you have to be professional and do the things that you have to do and work very hard to come out of this bad period."
The coach did not discuss whether he will be afforded time to turn things around, adding: "It's not up to me I think to say about that question but we shall see."
Daley Blind echoed the coach's sentiments, telling Sky Sports: "It's very disappointing if you have most of the possession but Norwich countered us well. We're working hard out on the training ground on every aspect of the game.
"We must stick together as a team and work hard to improve. I believe we'll come good doing it this way.
"It's important for us that the fans are standing behind us. We feel that support out on the pitch and it's important that we stick together. We have the best fans in the world."
Juan Mata thanked the supporters despite the defeat, adding: "It's very frustrating not to win, especially at home. We should win at Old Trafford if we want to be successful, but we haven't done it.
"We feel deeply sorry for the fans. I think they're incredible, so we have to do better for them."