Ian Baraclough said he is prepared to face any criticism that comes his way.
The Northern Ireland supporters jeered at the full-time whistle as they watched their side play out a drab draw against Cyprus in the Nations League.
Two great chances to win the match were missed by the hosts.
People are always questioning your position.
People aren't happy when you don't win by a lot of margins. The territory comes with it. My skin is thick.
Northern Ireland have never won a match in the Nations League despite losing nine and drawing three.
Baraclough has been in charge for two years and has just three victories.
He had called for four wins from four, but with experienced players such as Stuart Dallas, Craig Cathcart and Josh Magennis unavailable, he reiterated his call for patience.
After an unexpected first appearance off the bench at Windsor Park, Shea Charles started in Cyprus three days later along with two other rookies.
Baraclough said he knew what it was like.
We need to win games. The goal is to win games of football. I'm aware of where we are going.
There is a bigger picture of having a squad that can compete in the Euros. We aren't there with this group.
We're talking about players who haven't played under-21 football. Some of the mistakes we made are basic. You can see where we came from and where we are now.
We came together at the end of the season, bringing in new players who hadn't met each other. Some of the kids are being asked to go and work for a man.
They're stepping up, but they're not going to be at the top level and that makes it look disorganized. They have to be patient with us. If they don't get down about it and beat themselves up, we won't get anywhere.
Northern Ireland could have lost the match if they had won it.
The visitors missed a gilt-edged chance in the final minutes, but the hosts had two excellent second-half chances of their own.
Baraclough felt that NI improved in the second half and will be away to Kosovo on Thursday night.
The second half was positive for Baraclough.
The game was taken more to them by us. We could have lost it if we had given up more chances.
There were some really good chances. It was that final ball, the final delivery, and Ali was in the right place, but he will have nightmares about it.
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