All of Orlando City’s hoping, believing, hard work and togetherness — preached by coach and players over the last couple of months — again failed to translate into points that could salvage the season.

From the training ground to games, something is lost in translation, and the Lions extended their winless streak to eight games with a disheartening 4-0 loss Saturday night in New England.

“I think it’s a little bit about when then times are really tough,” Orlando City coach Jason Kreis said when asked after the game why the messages delivered all week don’t materialize on the playing field. “All these messages I think are easy to say when you’re sitting around a table and when you’re in a team meeting, but when the stress is really out there, the strain of having to perform in these matches is out there, when there’s disappointing moments that are out there, how we respond to those I think is where the truth lies.”

The truth can be hard to swallow when it continues pointing toward another playoff-less season that could see the team finish lower in the standings than the previous two years.

Kreis’ delivered more of a reality check Saturday night than in previous postgame talks, which often defended losing performances and held onto fading hope.

Team captain Kaká delivered a similarly somber interview, calling on his teammates to use the final seven games to show fans they respect and appreciate their support. The Brazilian star, whose future with the club beyond this season is in question because he is in a contract year, also echoed Kreis in saying upcoming performances will show who deserves to be a Lion next season.

What went wrong? How did a 6-1 start enter a tail spin Orlando City has yet to pull out of?

“It’s very hard to say and pick some special situation,” Kaká said. “But, we need to know what we can do better, what we can improve, and what is the difference between Orlando City from the first games and in these games.

“Maybe we are not fighting the right way. Everybody is running, everybody is fighting, everybody is trying to do something, but of course this is not the right way because we are not winning. So, we just need to try something different from now to the end to show, mostly for our supporters, that we care about them and about this club.”

He and others who spoke after the New England loss insisted the team still is behind Kreis and trusts the coaching staff. Midfielder Giles Barnes said with conviction, “The coach has put so much faith in us to go out there tonight, and we’ve let him down.”

“Jason can only do so much,” Barnes continued. “He’s put 11 people out there today … and, in my opinion, we’ve let the coach down. So, we have to go make that right. We’ve let the fans down, we’ve let the franchise down, we have to go out there and make that right.”

To do that he said the team will need to assess the most recent loss and then brush it off to focus on the next opponent: D.C. United at 7 p.m. Saturday night.

After that, the Lions head to Atlanta and then close out a four-game road trip in Portland Sept.24. Three home games against New England, Dallas and Columbus follow before finishing the year on the road in Philadelphia.

“I think we need to be focused on game by game right now, forget about what we’re going to do in the postseason, it’s still two months away,” Kreis said. “So, I think we need to continue to work. I think it’s time that we all show how badly we want to be here next year.”

ardelgallo@orlandosentinel.com