Leon Smith summoned up a message of defiance after a rare chastening Davis Cup day for Great Britain but he knows little short of a miracle is needed to beat France in the quarter-finals.
Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans failed to win a set between them at the Kindarena in Rouen, with Edmund beaten 7-5 7-6 (8/6) 6-3 by Lucas Pouille before Evans went down 6-2 6-3 6-3 to Jeremy Chardy.
Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot must now beat experienced French pair Nicolas Mahut and Julien Benneteau in the doubles on Saturday to avoid a 3-0 whitewash.
Captain Smith said: "Obviously it's tough losing two rubbers but it was always going to be a difficult match on clay. T here's always a way back. It would be wrong to say we've lost. That's not the mentality we've built up over the years.
"You've got to try and fight for everything and hopefully Jamie and Dom can cause an upset and we can at least take it into the final day and give ourselves a chance to fight again."
Britain have only lost two Davis Cup doubles rubbers under Smith - both to US twins Bob and Mike Bryan - but this is a tough ask, with Mahut and Benneteau among the format's leading practitioners.
They are not regular partners these days but first won major silverware together way back in 1999 in the US Open juniors and were victorious at the ATP Tour event in Marseille in February.
Smith said: "It is a very difficult match. Again they are playing players who have been brought up on clay courts and have got very good results together.
"Jamie and Dom understand each other well now, Jamie is experienced, but they are going to be underdogs. But they will create chances, definitely. They are ready."
Britain have not lost the first three rubbers since a match against Ukraine in 2009, a year before Smith took over the captaincy and led the former underachievers on a remarkable journey.
But they have never faced as big an uphill task as this. How they could have done with Andy Murray, who is in France but 500 miles away in Nice preparing for his comeback from an elbow injury.
Edmund had his chances, particularly when he led 5-2 in the second-set tie-break with two serves to come, but world number 17 Pouille fought back.
Chardy was a surprise pick by French captain Yannick Noah but fully justified his selection by exploiting the clay-court inexperience of Evans, playing his first match on the surface for almost three years.
There were never likely to be instant results but Evans, now ranked in the top 50, can no longer avoid clay and appears willing to try to learn to adapt his game.
The 26-year-old said: "It was pretty tough. It's almost a different sport. You can't defend, you have to try and be the aggressor.
"That match will help me to keep going forward. I am sure I will get it at some point in the season, but I only need to win a few matches and it will get me some good points going into the grass."
Source: PA
