Giles enjoyed County Championship success as a Bears player

Warwickshire director of cricket Ashley Giles says their innings defeat against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge was the lowest point of his coaching career.

The Championship's bottom club were bowled out twice in a day as they fell to a ninth defeat of the season.

"It's probably my lowest ebb as the head coach of this side - it's hugely disappointing to say the least," Giles told BBC WM.

"It hurts everyone in the dressing room, but particularly myself."

Warwickshire have now been dismissed for under 200 in 11 of their 26 Championship innings, and Giles is battling to find the reasons for such persistent batting frailties.

"The evidence is clear to see - what do we do about it? We've not got a lot of back-up to come, so we've got to work hard with this group," said the former England spinner.

"It's an incredibly tricky situation because you're not just talking about one or two guys being out of form, you're talking about your whole top order."

Of the Bears' senior batsman only Rikki Clarke is averaging better than 30 in Championship cricket this season, while former England players Darren Maddy, Jim Troughton and Tim Ambrose can barely buy a run between them.

"That's right - again the figures don't lie," noted Giles. "We're all racking our brains trying to find ways to get out of these slumps, to get people back in form.

"Ultimately it hasn't worked - it's a worry for the rest of the season and we have to look to the future too.

"It's tough for all of us, these guys are all professional and they're all decent blokes as well so it hurts them. To think that they don't take it home would be silly - we all do that and it gives you a few sleepless nights."

606: DEBATE Let's draw a line under this season and give Giles and co one last chance to get some good players in during the winter marvmark

Giles and Warwickshire have three matches remaining to try and salvage their First Division status, and after the season's completion the 2005 Ashes winner will sit down to consider his future.

"I think for now I've got a job to do here with these boys, and they mean a lot to me," he said.

"The club and the team clearly mean a lot to me. I've spent my whole career here, so we've got to push on. Whatever happens after that we'll worry about then."

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