John Caulfield said that Cork City must play the game of their lives against Dundalk when the top two meet in Turner's Cross on Monday night.
After their scintillating form in the first half of the season, the Leesiders might have expected to be champions by now but the table toppers have stumbled badly since the departure of Seanie Maguire and Kevin O'Connor for Preston in July.
Unbeaten in the first 22 games of the season, Cork have now lost four in six and the run-in has become a far nervier affair than was envisaged a couple of months ago.
Last night, they were beaten 2-1 by Limerick FC in a televised game in Markets Field.
Dundalk's impressive burst of form isn't helping matters either.
The pair meet on Monday night and the reigning champions have the chance to reduce the gap at the top to eight points with four games remaining.
On the other hand, a victory for Cork would seal their first League title in 12 years.
The Cork manager acknowledged his side has slipped up in the past month but said he knows what's coming on Monday.
"We have to play the game of our lives," he told RTÉ Sport.
"These guys all year have done that. But in the last month or so, we've slipped up a bit.
"We just have to get back to basics on Monday night. It's going to be an incredibly difficult game. But these guys are able to do it if they put their minds to it."
Caulfield bemoaned his team's defensive lapses, which have resulted in the concession of soft goals in recent times.
He added: "We were two goals down after 15 minutes despite the fact that we started well. Even though we got back into it and created numerous chances and could have got an equaliser, at the end of the day, Limerick deserved their win.
"On the evidence of the past few weeks, we've been giving away soft goals. We've pressed the self-destruct button. But there's only one group that can get us out of it and that's ourselves.
"(Limerick) have improved overall. Neil (McDonald) has done a great job. He's improved their shape. They've improved but from our point of view, you can't give away two goals like that.
"The first goal was comical. The second was a soft free to give away. And then all of a sudden, you're chasing the game.
"Every game in this league, you have to earn the right to win it and in the last couple of weeks we haven't done enough to do that."
