Canterbury players arranged an impromptu meeting on Monday in a bid to salvage their season following a fourth straight loss on Sunday afternoon.

It came after Bulldogs chairman Ray Dib addressed the playing group following the humiliating 38-0 defeat against Penrith, labelling the performance as unacceptable and admitting he understands why fans are calling for his and the coach's head.

On Monday, their day off, the club's senior players arranged for the team to meet for lunch and a bout of soul-searching in an attempt to galvanise resolve with their season threatening to spiral out of control.

Loading

"Good on them. It's their day off and they decided they all want to get together and have lunch somewhere today," Dib told Fairfax Media.



"That's a good sign of a team that cares. It had nothing to do with the club. I knew nothing about it. They are taking it upon themselves to fix things. I've spoken to the players as a group. And I've also spoken to certain individuals. The players, Des and everyone at the club knows yesterday was unacceptable. That was not our club.



"There are no issues there. I've spoken to all the players and they are happy. I asked them, is everyone okay? Is everyone happy? I asked them all. Everyone is fine. Everyone is happy – they are just shaking their heads because they didn't see that coming yesterday. It's not acceptable to our members, to our fans and our club and to Des. And they're disappointed about it."



The Bulldogs, who on Monday moved to resolve issues that have unsettled prop David Klemmer over the past couple of months, have won just three of their past eight games since re-signing Hasler earlier in the season.



Fans are now calling for a boycott of their next match such is the frustration with the type of football their team is producing, but Dib insists Hasler is the right man for the job.



"They're calling for Des' head. They are calling for my head," Dib said. "They have every right to, mate. I understand the frustration, I really do. All I can be is apologetic about it. The boys don't go out there to lose. They don't train to lose. Des is so thorough. He doesn't leave anything unturned. Every detail he covers off. It's only halfway through the year. The year is not over – nowhere near over.

'Unacceptable': The Bulldogs were humiliated 38-0 by Penrith on Sunday. Credit:Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

"People are saying, 'You've lost Josh Reynolds, Raelene Castle has resigned as CEO' ... that's rugby league. It's happened before. We're always going to have adversity but it's about how you stick together. That's what the Bulldogs are renowned for, getting through the tough times. We just couldn't put it together yesterday for some reason."



The Bulldogs have now slumped to 14th on the ladder, just two points clear of the struggling Tigers and four points adrift of wooden spoon favourites, Newcastle.



However it's not the first time the Hasler-led Bulldogs have struggled in the first half of the season only to make a late charge at the finals.



Dib admits the heroics of 2014, when they came from seventh to make the grand final, shouldn't be forgotten.



"In 2014 we were in the same boat," Dib said. "We lost four or five in a row but at the back-half of the season we made the grand final. That's what I'm saying to the members and fans – they're disappointed and frustrated and I understand that. They have every right to be. These are paying members – they are the stakeholders of our club. They deserve better. The players know that and Des knows that.



"All I'm saying is stick with us. It happened in '14 – we've done it before and there's no reason why we can't get there again. We need to stay united and stay positive. I'm not saying we're going to get there again, but we'll give it a good crack. We need the members and fans to stick with us."