By Mark Mitchener

I don't want to go down with a whimper Simon Grayson

Caretaker boss Simon Grayson knows he faces a tough managerial baptism after succeeding Colin Hendry at Blackpool.

Despite beating Scunthorpe 5-2 in his first game in temporary charge, the Seasiders have only taken one point from their last three league games.

"There's a lot of work to be done here," Grayson insisted.

"But management's all about ups and downs - I'm not going to go into my shell and hide. I've got to stand up and make sure we get things right."

Grayson, who recently recruited Tony Parkes and Andy Welsh to his backroom team, has been told there is no timescale for him to worry about when it comes to a permanent managerial appointment.

But he admitted to being "gobsmacked" at his side's 3-1 home defeat by Bournemouth on Tuesday, after which some fans vented their anger at chairman Karl Oyston after booing the players off.

"We were battered by a very good team, but that doesn't take away how poor we were. We just couldn't get anywhere near any of their players," Grayson said.

"For the last week or 10 days, we'd been working on closing people down and getting into people's faces, but we just did the complete opposite.

"We got the early goal in the first five minutes, but then just capitulated.

"We can't blame the pitch, as Bournemouth passed us off the pitch, and that shouldn't stop you getting tackles in. It could have been a cricket score."

Grayson, 36 next week, has racked up 434 league appearances for nine different clubs in his playing career.

He started 11 games himself this season while combining playing with coaching the reserve team, before being handed the first-team reins when Hendry was relieved of his duties after their FA Cup defeat at Doncaster last month.

GRAYSON THE MANAGER 13 November: Scunthorpe (h) Won 5-2 19 November: Colchester (a) Lost 2-3 22 November: Carlisle (a) (LDV) Lost 1-2 26 November: Chesterfield (a) Drew 1-1 6 December: Bournemouth (h) Lost 1-3

And having only recently made the transition from playing to managing, the former Aston Villa and Leicester man knows the "hairdryer" treatment is not necessarily the best medicine for his players.

"We've got to pick the players up and talk constructively about things," he said.

"We've now got a massive game on Saturday against Tranmere, as they need a result as well, so we've got to stand up and be counted.

"They've got to accept the criticism, as we've got to be a strong unit on and off the pitch.

"The players who were in possession of the shirt deserved to be because of the performance at Chesterfield last week, but we've got players who've been out of the 16 who will come back into contention now.

"You know when you become a manager, or a caretaker, that you've got to get results, but I don't want to go down with a whimper.

"I want to be known as somebody who can rally his troops, implement ideas and get a reaction."