Mike Jackson provided his post-match assessment as Tranmere Rovers suffered a 4-0 defeat versus Crawley Town in Sky Bet League Two.
Goals from Max Watters, Tom Nichols and Jordan Tunnicliffe handed the hosts a three-goal lead at the interval, which was extended thirteen minutes from time courtesy of substitute Tyler Frost.
Reviewing Tranmere’s performance at The People’s Pension Stadium, Jackson said: “It’s disappointing with the goals we conceded because you then give yourself a massive uphill task to try and get back in the game. You’ve got to start the game better defensively and we had a couple of warnings with runners.
“I saw the guys have a go [in the second-half],” added the Rovers’ boss. “They’ve had to try and regroup, it shocked them a little bit but I could see that they were trying to get back in the game. It was too late by then; they had a rally up and I said we needed to get the next goal- which we didn’t manage to do.”
The Whites will now be looking ahead to Saturday’s home match versus Morecambe, with Jackson expecting a response from his players.
He said: “What we need to do now is regroup. We’ve had a good meeting with the lads there and everyone had their say on what we need to be doing. It’s now about trying to improve on the basics, the consistency of the performance and everyone taking responsibility within that.
“They’re hurting. I don’t think that game tonight was anything about tactics at the start of the game. At the start of every game, you’ve got to make sure you’re defending properly and are available to get on the ball. There was no sign of that or any urgency, and we needed that. We go to back work now and will get back on the training pitch.”