Valencia coach Cesare Prandelli has told his players "there is no room for excuses" and they must stand up and be counted if the club are going to experience a change in fortunes this season.
The 2-1 triumph at Sporting Gijon on Oct. 16 -- Prandelli's first game after replacing former manager Pako Ayestaran -- was also their last victory in La Liga and Los Che have mustered only three points in six league games since.
They looked to be on course for a 2-1 win on Sunday in their last home league game of 2016 but a last-gasp equaliser from playmaker Pablo Formals denied them all three points.
"Right now the team is thinking about the result and not about playing," Prandelli is reported as saying in Superdeporte. "We must have the personality to play more. Even at a time of adversity, one has to think that results are achieved through playing."
Valencia had hoped for improved results following the arrival of the experienced Prandelli, a former Fiorentina and Italy coach.
Ayestaran was sacked with the worst record of any coach in the club's 98-year history by taking just 10 points from 12 games after replacing Gary Neville in March.
Neville, like Ayesteran, had no managerial experience and guided the team to only three wins in 16 La Liga games. But former Spain striker Salva Ballesta, who played at Valencia from 2001 until 2005, says Prandelli is partly to blame.
"I'm disappointed with the coach, with his defensive approach," Ballesta told Onda Cero radio. "The fact is that you don't see this Valencia being superior to their opponents at any stage of a game. I don't see Valencia as a candidate to climb up in the standings."
Valencia are 16th in La Liga, two points clear of the drop zone, and could fall to 17th if Deportivo beat Real Sociedad on Monday evening.
"When I accepted this job, I knew it would be a very difficult challenge," Prandelli said. "I was coming to a club that wanted to see its team go very rapidly. We all have to know that this is our reality. There is no room for excuses. We must all think and raise our heads.
"We must have the strength to get up and the capacity to overcome obstacles."
Valencia travel to San Sebastian on Saturday to face a Real Sociedad side that have won four and lost one of its seven home league encounters.