The Football Association responded to a threatened boycott of its Respect campaign last night by insisting the initiative would improve behaviour at all levels of the game provided it received time and support to take root.

English football's governing body promised to contact managers after a meeting yesterday of the League Managers Association in Coventry, convened by the LMA's chief executive, Richard Bevan, and another weekend of high-profile coaches deriding the campaign as a "one-way street" in favour of referees.

Newcastle United's interim manager, Joe Kinnear, is facing a possible FA charge after describing Martin Atkinson, the referee who last week provoked an outburst from Sunderland's Roy Keane, as a "Mickey Mouse ref", and Dave Jones was also outspoken after having two men sent off at Queens Park Rangers. "There's no respect. There isn't any. It's a load of baloney," the Cardiff City manager claimed.

The FA's director of governance, Jonathan Hall, said: "It has been disappointing to witness various incidents of managers publicly criticising referees. The FA will seek to meet with the LMA and individual managers regarding the Respect programme as soon as possible."

Nevertheless, Respect is facing a serious test of its influence, with Paul Jewell confirming that a growing number of managers are considering withdrawing their support only three months after it was launched. The Derby manager, who received widespread backing at the LMA meeting over his run-in with Stuart Attwell, the referee who disallowed two of his team's goals in a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest, said: "There's one or two managers thinking of pulling out of it. The referees deserve respect but we can't start respecting them if they get major decisions wrong that affect livelihoods.

"Every manager says they are hard done-by after games but some of the injustices this season aren't right. All we want is for people to hold their hands up and say they made a mistake, whether it's a referee or a fourth official. They don't help themselves by cocooning themselves away like they're untouchable. Even if they had a go back, at least it's being human and not hiding behind a banner of 'Respect the ref'."

Most managerial gripes, as Jewell indicated, concern the lack of feedback from the Professional Game Match Officials Board, the organisation that manages professional referees, and a perceived lack of cooperation from the FA regarding its appeals process, with the threat of an extended ban hanging over a "frivolous" appeal. "The people who run the Professional Game Match Officials Board need to include representatives from players and managers, as well as referees," Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association, argued.

Indeed, last night there were reports that the LMA will call for the resignation of the PGMOB's chief Keith Hackett and its chairman Peter Heard if it does not get a representative on that board, with names such as Lawrie McMenemy and Graham Taylor already being mentioned.

For the FA there is a fear that managerial criticism may detract from a campaign designed to benefit not only the Premier League but grassroots football. Respect was launched in response to a 2007 poll of 37,000 people involved in the game who identified abuse of referees, along with pressure from parents, as a main concern. About 7,000 referees quit every year as a consequence of verbal and/or physical abuse but this season, the FA says, dissent has fallen sharply. "At grassroots level we have conducted some statistical surveys and bookings for dissent are down 12%," an FA spokesman said. "That is across the game, from professional to county FA levels, and comprises around 360 leagues that signed up to the campaign."

Hall added: "There have been some positive signs at the top end, in particular the drop in instances of players harassing referees. This is a long-term commitment and the FA will continue to work with all other organisations to improve behaviour. There has been real progress at grassroots level. We will not give up on it and will continue to strive for that improvement at all levels of the game."

David Allison, the referees' manager for the Football League, concurred: "We remain fully committed to it. Referees are continuing to use captains in the management of their teams and we feel that has had a positive affect, although the success of the campaign is for others to judge. You will always get isolated cases that would deny that but, in general, it is working."

The Premier League, Football League, PFA, LMA, PGMOB and all county FAs pledged active support when Respect was launched and it seems the major reservations are confined to managers. Gordon Taylor said: "From the players' point of view the response from referees has been very good, they have seen the difference using captains to communicate with the officials. The response back from PFA officials who have been assessors has been positive, particularly the response from referees on the respect being shown to them by players. With managers there are livelihoods at stake and there have been errors and there have been frustrations."

Give a little respect: Ranters who rail against officialdom

"Quite a few hearts sank when the players heard he [Rob Styles] was refereeing our game ... Apparently he has quite a bit of history with Bolton, too. I don't know what that history is because I haven't been here long enough, but I do know it went down like the Bismarck"
Gary Megson, Sep 27 2008

"In the real world refs do not give decisions like that ... This PC stuff about 'Ooh, he's tugged his shirt'. If you want 7-7 games, that is what you are going to get"
Tony Mowbray, Nov 1 2008

"The tackle for the first offence, there was no malice ... The second one the ball's got the top of his shoulder. Give red cards for dangerous tackles where the studs are up but it's not a game for women. Benni [McCarthy] was sent off for two nothing incidents. Referees have got to be stronger than that"
Paul Ince, Nov 1 2008

"If we'd had a proper referee we'd have come away with something. It was a blatant foul, a blatant push prior to the penalty, and he [Martin Atkinson] ignores it. Johnson completely pushes Cacapa out of the way - straight hands, just a push ... But it was just a Mickey Mouse ref doing nothing"
Joe Kinnear, Nov 9 2008

· This article was amended on Wednesday November 19 2008. A quote attributed to Jim Ashworth in the article above about the Football Association's campaign to combat poor behaviour toward referees was in fact from David Allison. He took over from Jim Ashworth as the referees' manager for the Football League last year. This has been corrected.