Dave Jones has warned his Cardiff City strugglers not to blame the club's off-the-field difficulties as an excuse for their poor Championship form.
Cardiff were given a 70-day High Court reprieve last week after facing a winding up order from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs to pay a debt.
The Bluebirds' 2-1 defeat to Ipswich on Sunday was their third successive loss.
"It is not an excuse for anybody to use what is going on off the pitch. Anyone who does wants shooting," said Jones.
Cardiff were top of the table after an unbeaten October - three wins and a draw - when Jones was awarded the Championship's manager of the month honour.
When you lose football matches it is nothing to do with what is going on off the pitch
Cardiff City boss Dave Jones
But the Bluebirds have slumped in a winless November to outside of the play-off zone among a backdrop of off-the-field troubles and uncertainty.
Cardiff's date with the Inland Revenue in London's High Court has been adjourned until February while the club also has a long-standing £15m debt owned to former owner Sam Hammam's business, the Langston Corporation.
"At the moment everything around the football club is bad news," acknowledged Jones.
"But when you lose football matches it is nothing to do with what is going on off the pitch."
Cardiff had taken a first-half lead against struggling Ipswich Town on Sunday courtesy of a Peter Whittingham wonder goal.
But they surrendered their advantage conceding twice in the final 12 minutes, the Tractor Boys sealed their first away win of the season.
The Bluebirds started November with a 1-1 home draw with Nottingham Forest when the visitors scored a last-gasp winner before losing back-to-back away matches at Swansea City and Barnsley, where another last minute goal cost Cardiff.
"It is nothing to do with what people write about you and what is supposed to be happening," said Jones.
"It is about players going out in the second half and not doing their jobs," added Jones referring to their Ipswich disappointment.
"And it doesn't help when we lose football matches like that.
"It is easy to blame something that is not right or something happening off the pitch.
"It is purely down to the last 45 minutes of us not going out, rolling up our sleeves and battling and winning football matches that we should have gone on and won.
"We all have to take collective responsibility for that - and that's the third defeat now and the last two games are games we should not have lost.
"And that is down to us and nobody else, nothing that is going on off the pitch."
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