"Of course I think we can survive," he said after the match.
"If you say to me it's going to be really difficult to make those points up then I can't argue with you and no-one in their right mind would.
"But I also think that this team has far from given up and accepted that they are doomed.
"They can play well and I think you saw from the first half today that if we can get our passing going and play the football we want to play then we can do enough to embarrass our opponents.
"I have hope, I have belief, but of course I wish I had the same number of points as those sides around us. We have to make up that gap."