Plymouth have won four of their 14 league matches under Cleverley so far this season, with their last victory – 4-0 at Burton – on 27 September.
They have conceded more goals – 25 – than any other club in the league and Cleverley conceded that while it is still early in the season, his side are in a relegation battle.
“I don’t think there’s any part of our performances or consistency to allude to that we’re not – let’s face the situation, we’re in head on,” he said.
“There’s no-one who wants to stick his chest out more than myself and deal with it and work through it, but I think we have to acknowledge that this is not something that’s going to fix itself overnight or anyone’s got a magic wand to make this issue go away.
“We’re putting in performances that we deserve to be where we’re at. We have to acknowledge that and take ownership of that and I’ll be the first to do that.”
For the second match in a row, unhappy Plymouth fans made their feelings known at the end of the game and Cleverley said they had a right to be “frustrated”.
Plymouth are away at Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday in the FA Cup first round before returning to league action on 8 November away at Huddersfield.
“It’s their club and we have to acknowledge how far they travel and the amount of money they spend to support us and they’re frustrated, there’s no holding back,” he said.
“We’re all hurting, we’re all working as much as we possibly can to turn the situation around.
“[I] said to the players, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I’ve been there as a player, it’s not easy when your own fans turn and I’ll certainly help our players through that but I can take it. I’ve got thick skin.”
