I’ve honestly lost count of how many negative reports regarding the Dragons that have hit headlines in the past two-or-so months.

I’ve also lost count of how many times either Paul McGregor or a member of the Dragons set up, be it player or official, have come out to deny such reports.

With sincere apologies to fans of the Red V, your side is not playing good football right now and unless things chance, and soon, you won’t be there comes final time.

A newborn could do a better job running the #RedV than Doust and co. ever could. #OustDoust — Nate Rizk (@Naterizk) July 31, 2016

Actually, given that 90% of the negativity is coming from Dragons fans themselves, perhaps this is little more than adding to their frustration.

This is a football side that has won just three games since round 13. Two of those were against severely Origin-depleted sides, with the third win coming over rock bottom Newcastle.

I certainly don’t want to take away from the efforts of their players in wins over both the Storm and Cowboys, two of the top three sides in the competition, but given the amount of talent unavailable for both opponents, nothing less than a win was acceptable.

I have no idea why Paul McGregor would waste time accusing the media of targeting his team when that energy could be better spent on motivating his players to prove them wrong.

The Dragons are far from the worst team in the competition, but given their lack of wins lately, fans and media can be forgiven for asking questions.

This is a side that has struggled to score points all season. Right now they sit just one game outside the top eight, however their point’s differential sits at -161, by far the worst of the chasing pack.

While the Sea Eagles, Warriors, Titans and Tigers are all playing better football than they were earlier in the season, the Dragons are going backwards.

They were brave against the Dogs on Friday Night, but given the amount of ball they had, they probably should have banked two important competition points.

Of positive to fans of the club, efforts were far improved from their three previous performances, which were big losses to teams around them on the table, in the Tigers, Titans and Sea Eagles.

To sum up the Dragons recent form, not once in July did they manage to score more than 12 points in a game.

I’m all for a club supporting its players, but I fail to say where McGregor and co can draw evidence that they are travelling well.

To hear that must be insulting to the fans who pay their hard earned money to support their team each week.

The Dragons have five games left this season to play finals footy. Realistically they can really only afford to drop one game, maximum, with not even five-straight wins guaranteeing them a spot in September.

They do play the teams ranked 14th, 15th and 16th over the closing month and a bit, however they will need to overcome the Broncos and Sharks to put themselves in the hunt.

They could very well win all five of those games, but on recent form it’s hard to see where the points are going to come from to beat anyone other than maybe the Knights.

Dragon’s fans have been asking questions for more than a few seasons now, with repeated calls for changes at the top. These calls have largely been ignored despite the Save Our Saints movement gaining traction in the media.

I don’t know the ins and outs of the Dragons set up, but over the past month-or-so I have seen a team that has almost forgotten how to score points struggling to stay in contention for a spot in the eight.

While McGregor is coach,you can throw that blueprint out the window #McGrexit #oustdoust https://t.co/5ZnewqO3yH — Mick Attarian (@pmens72) July 27, 2016

I’m not sure how Paul McGregor and co are viewing their side but after a big night and very little sleep, I’d sure love the ability to look into their mirror.

It’s time for clubs to embrace the criticism, admit they have been well under par and use it as motivation.

Deny it all you want, but only wins on the field will truly silence the doubters.