Inigo Calderon says his Bristol Rovers side must be “strong” as they prepare to take on Wanderers this weekend.
The Gas suffered a cruel late defeat against leaders Birmingham in midweek after Jay Stansfield’s penalty in the 85th minute.
That result left Calderon’s side three points above the relegation zone, although 21st-place Burton still have a game in hand.
“If you look back at the last 180 minutes, we were better for 170 minutes but the result is we have zero points from the last six,” he told BBC Radio Bristol.
"You cannot get crazy, you cannot feel sorry for yourself. You have to keep going because when you are down there in the table, football is like that - it's cruel, it's brutal against you.
“Football tests how strong you are and we have to go back again and again, ready for Saturday against Bolton.
“It is going to be similar, maybe even more difficult because it is away. We know away, the form hasn’t been good. Football is testing us and we have to be ready for that.”
Despite the result, Calderon insists there are plenty of positives to take from the Birmingham performance.
“I was proud of the boys but frustrated because I think football has been unfair with us,” the head coach added.
“We cannot waste time thinking about how unfair it is because life is sometimes not fair, you have to keep going. There were a lot of positives but at the same time, we made mistakes and they punished us.
"In a normal world it should be enough to get something from the game but when you are down there, the mistakes - especially against good teams - are going to punish you.
"I think for 85 minutes we were better than the best team in the league, it was not enough so we have to do better."
The Spaniard admits there is pressure on the remaining games but wants his players to focus on themselves rather than results elsewhere.
“For me, it is more of a mental thing to be strong enough to deal with that,” he said. “The good thing is we have been there and know how to deal with these situations.
“You could see that (on Tuesday), conceding the early goal – that was something we tried to stop – but the way we reacted gave me belief that we are strong.
“It was not easy against a top team and it could be like, ‘Wow, it is going to be a long night’. But the reaction was really good and those are the things I like.
“We have to use the mistakes, there were two mistakes against a top team and that was enough. We know we have to do better.
“I am not thinking too much about the other teams because we know they will win at some point and we have to win, we have to get a few more results.”
