Magpies boss Neal Ardley says all he can do is attempt to pick up his 'devastated' Notts County players and ensure they still believe that a Great Escape is possible.
Defeat away at lower mid-table Crewe Alexandra saw his side fail to build on recent triumphs leaving them once against nailed to the bottom of the Football League.
Now with only four games left to save their season, Notts are staring non-league football in the face.
On Good Friday, the Magpies will play host to fourth placed MK Dons who are battling it out for automatic promotion back to League One and Ardley must ensure that his men have not lost all hope.
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"The boys are devastated," said Ardley.
"My job now is to make sure that they keep the belief and that they work so, so hard in the week.
"On Friday, against one of the best teams in the league, we must step up and do what we did at Lincoln.
"The players, I do believe, are giving everything.
"It didn't look like it (against Crewe) because we were caught and we were beaten to everything.
"That is not through lack of effort. That's just a day where we were not a team, we were at sixes and sevens."
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Kane Hemmings' glaring miss at Gresty Road left Notts supporters dreaming of what could have been.
Ardley had worked hard in the week on winning possession in the opposition's half, and Jon Stead did exactly that with Notts just a goal down, but his ball into the area saw Hemmings miss a golden chance to equalise with the goal gaping.
The 27-year-old has so often been the man Notts can rely on in attack, especially during the latter half of the season, scoring important goals against Northampton, Stevenage, Carlisle and Tranmere.
"Kane has been brilliant for us lately. He has scored a lot of goals," he said.
"He had the chance to get us a goal back, but even then we had too many players who had a really bad day, including players who have been really good lately.
"They won every battle at one end and we lost every battle at the other and that is a recipe for disaster.
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"Kane is down. They are all down. They are all flat. I need to pick these boys up.
"They all care. As much as I know the fans are angry, and I would be if I watched that - I am angry watching it.
"I can't go to town on them. We have got four games to go and I have got to find a way to pick them up and put four exceptional performances in."
