CHAIRMAN of rugby Graham Dawe insists both he and Plymouth Albion's players are doing all they can to try and improve the club's fortunes.

Albion lost 26-10 at Coventry on Friday night to suffer their sixth defeat in eight Championship matches this season.

The loss, Plymouth's third successive setback, leaves them third from bottom in the standings and stuck in the relegation play-off places.

Worryingly for Albion, who face top six sides Nottingham, Bristol and London Welsh in their next three matches, they are now six points off Moseley who occupy eighth position and the final promotion play-off spot.

One major part of their game which has cost them this term is the number of errors they have made, however, Dawe said his side will bid to eradicate those mistakes.

"The current squad of players have got to be with us for the rest of the season – we have got to work on it," said Dawe in the wake of Friday night's league loss at Coventry. "Rome wasn't built in a day – we have just got to keep working on it.

"I am working as hard as I can, we all are.

"Albion are trying to win rugby matches – this team is trying to be successful. We have just got to keep working for ourselves."

Dawe added of his side's fixture list, which sees them entertain Nottingham and Bristol in the next fortnight before a tough trip to London Welsh: "You are always going to get challenges in this league.

"When you take five of the poorer teams out of this league (which was what happened last season) it is going to be quite a tough league, especially for a young team like us.

"They are all tough games, a challenge, but we look forward to challenges."

Albion's defeat away to Coventry on Friday night was not only their third successive league defeat but it continued their dreadful run of form away from home this year.

Plymouth last won on their travels at Sedgley Park in March 2009 – since then, they have failed eight times to return to Brickfields with a victory.

Four of those occasions have been this season including the Coventry clash in which Albion were forced to play with 14 men in both halves. This followed the sin-binning of Sean-Michael Stephen on 33 minutes and Darren Clayton on 62.

Dawe added: "If you think you can just automatically conjure up a win at Coventry then you have got another think coming."

On seeing two of Albion's players receiving yellow cards, Dawe said: "You have to play this game on the edge to be competitive.

"You don't want to be a soft option and in the heat of the moment, you can cross that line too far."

When asked if his side could learn from experiences such as Friday night's defeat, Dawe responded: "I suppose we can only judge that at the end of the season."

One criticism thrown at Albion this season is that they have raised their game for the derby matches against Exeter Chiefs and Cornish Pirates, but have failed to scale those heights in other games.

The Brickfields club were unlucky not to come away with more than a losing, bonus point at Exeter in a 30-24 defeat and did well to beat Pirates 16-8.

When asked why his team cannot produce the level of performance shown in the two derby clashes week-in, week-out, Dawe said: "Maybe you should ask Coventry that.

"Maybe Coventry are a good rugby team – just the same as other teams are in this league.

"The game is a psychological game. It is easy to sit there and say that (we raised our game for those two matches), but anybody who has been in the sport as long as I have knows that is not always a true reflection."

FOR CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE AND RESULTS – SEE PAGE 37