Under-fire Jon McCarthy once again insisted he is the right manager for Chester FC and that he had not lost the dressing room after the dismal 2-0 defeat at 10-man Solihull Moors.

'We want Macca Out' chants could be heard from the travelling Blues supporters after seeing their side be beaten by fellow strugglers Moors.

And, when asked by The Chronicle about his own position, McCarthy said: "I am (the man to take this club forward).

"You'd lose the dressing room (otherwise). It's hard for me to come out here and say the stuff because I can sound like I'm making excuses.

"But you can do an investigation, and go around the club, and footballers would let you know straight away. Ask them, in terms of me as a manager, what I'm like and ask them what the training is like, and you'll get the answer.

"Ask people around the football club who work with me every day what they think of me and then add into the equation what has happened and the other factors that are around the squad in terms of where we are as a football club.

"I understand the frustration but we came into tonight's game expecting to win and if we had won we'd be two points off the play-offs. It's a really disappointing result and one we have to take.

"We have made ourselves quite difficult to beat and there are a lot of clubs in our division who have more defeats on their record. It's not a group that gets smashed and hammered every week.

"We just need to get some players on the pitch. It's frustrating and difficult to take because we can't them out there. I'd love to see that group play and when we do we'll be all right.

"Ask the players. If they don't think that's the case, you'll get your answer from them."

The defeat was Chester's third in eight games this season and their 18th from the 28 league matches they have played in 2017.

It came on the back of Saturday's last-gasp 1-1 draw at rock-bottom Torquay United and a 2-0 loss to Macclesfield Town that extended the club's winless home league run to 14 games.

But McCarthy again insisted there were mitigating circumstances with centre-back Ryan Astles ruled out and striker James Akintunde deemed fit enough only for a place on the bench after he picked up a fresh injury.

The former Northern Ireland international, when told of the fans' feelings by The Chronicle, said: "If I have got Harry White and Ross Hannah starting the games and Nyal Bell and Akintunde on the bench, and if I have Paul Turnbull available on Saturday, and Ryan Astles tonight, that's six points and two comfortable wins. I know that and people know that.

"When the strong characters and best players are not all there it has an effect."

McCarthy, who handed a debut to loan signing Nathan Sheron, earlier said: "We've got the smallest group in the division and one of the smallest budgets in the division.

"If we pick up an injury it just affects us more than anybody else. That's where the football club is at. A lot of hard work goes on in that department but we haven't got a medical support to diagnose and to be able to get the players back on the pitch a lot quicker.

"We know we've got good players and soon as we get them out there'll be a good run of results."