The inaccurate Crows slumped to their fourth-straight defeat on Saturday afternoon, going down to Carlton by 48 points at AAMI Stadium.
Adelaide declared itself to be a top-four contender heading into the start of the season and the club’s failure to deliver on its pre-season expectation has put Craig under intense heat for the first time in his coaching career.
Angry fans hurled abuse at the Crows longest-serving coach after the game and Craig said he accepted that the club had let down its supporters over the past month.
“This is probably the most difficult time we’ll go through as a playing group and a coaching group,” Craig said after the game.
“It’s not fine, don’t get me wrong but that’s what we’ve got. We’ve got to make sure we utilise this time the best that we possibly can, and get as good as we can under the circumstances that we have.”
“We just need to make sure we accept our part of the responsibility and to get it better because that’s basically what [fans] are asking for.”
Craig lamented his side’s poor goalkicking, ineffective tackling and costly turnovers in what he described as the Crows “worst performance” of the year.
The Crows kicked 6.19 in front of goal and committed countless skill errors in the general play, including several costly turnovers.
“There’s just some plain sloppiness in our execution where I’ve got no one on me at all and I try and kick 15-20m away and I miss him," Craig said.
"Because of that situation you turn the ball over in undefendable areas of the ground and that’s why you see these goals going over the back."
Craig said his side would maintain its finals and top-four aspirations, despite the disastrous start to the season.
“Rest assured there’ll be no giving up on that sort of ambition. If we continue to play like we are well then those sorts of top-four top-eight (ambitions) eventually dry up, but no way (will we give up).”
