FOLLOWING a long discussion in the dressing room with his players, the manager emerged to talk about this defeat at Cambridge United.

"I thought we started well enough, then gave them two bad goals," he said.

"Then we never really looked like getting back into the game, which was the really disappointing thing for me.

"We never really functioned, certainly not in the final third.

"Generally speaking the team was okay for the first 15 minutes, but once the goal went in we just, not lost desire, but never looked like getting back into the game.

"We have had a little talk about that, which is the right thing to do. But collectively the team was below what we would like them to be and that is what we have discussed.

"The first goal was bad enough, from a set piece, a corner, and then again for the second we have not dealt with it as we should.

"Outside of that Gav has had one save to make and their lad has pulled off a couple of saves

"I think one of the things we have to come to terms with is working that little bit harder collectively, perhaps, than we are doing at the moment.

"Individually we are working hard, but the unit hasn't worked hard enough today.

"Their system was causing us a few problems in the middle of the field, so we changed things. Then because of that we didn't really look good enough in the final third of the field.

"Maybe we could have taken the lead, Simon Brown had a good chance and then right on half time their keeper has brought off a great save from Shaun - who probably looked the only player likely to score.

"So it is a big disappointment and we have a chat about it. We're now looking forward to putting it right, in fact, all of us wish we could back out there now!

"Whatever was said in the dressing room will remain in there, but I thought we went below the standards that we would have liked. Based on the fact that we know we are better than that.

"This will now give me the opportunity to change one or two faces in the team, as we have under performed for one or two games.

"I don't think we were too bad on Tuesday night, but it did disappoint people, although we should be able to get over that.

"I would like to think that big Nat is back for next weekend and big Evo will be back. They are big characters and I think we missed them today.

"A lot of people have missed the opportunity to stay in the team, but we have good week ahead of ourselves and I imagine there might be some changes for next week.

"I will be looking for a massive improvement on, if not the result, then a massive improvement on how the team approaches a game, after being off the pace today.

"We have said things in there today which needed to be said and I'm quite sure there will be a reaction to it.

"I don't know Lee McEvilly, but he's had a field day today. So we have missed someone who could deal with him, in terms of two characters Evo and Nat. We never got to grips with him at all.

"The goal was a changing point and it was disappointing that we couldn't react to that - but I'm quite convinced that we will from now on.

"I know that easy to say after the horse has bolted, and I accept that, but sometimes you need the horse to bolt to open your eyes to certain things. We will definitely knuckle down and make sure that that doesn't happen again."