Colchester United manager Tony Humes said that the 1-0 defeat to Coventry City was the worst performance since he took over in September.
Speaking to the Green Un, Humes said: “I wouldn’t say these are worrying times, because we know that we are a good team.
“The players have still got to have belief in themselves, and you don’t become a poor team overnight.
“But I think I can say that this was the first poor performance that we have had, over the last 14 games. We were a little better against Port Vale.
“As a new manager, I think you often find that for the first 10 to 12 games everything is very positive, and you move forward.
“Then things get tougher, which is when we have to come together as a group. It becomes difficult when someone doesn’t want to work.
“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We want to prove next week that this was a one-off.