Worst performance since I arrived says Mansfield Town boss Graham Coughlan after tired surrender at Oldham Athletic

Players looked fatigued after Saturday's superb 3-0 home win over Bradford and had all their confidence knocked out of them before the break as they trailed 2-0 without any sign of a reply.

The defeat left Stags in 21st place, eight points off the drop, with a massive home game against fellow strugglers Carlisle United looming on Saturday.

“It's fair to say that was the worst performance since I've come through the door,” said Coughlan, who gave a debut to new signing Kell Watts, who arrived on loan today from Newcastle United.

“We didn't turn up to be honest. We were second best all night – the scoreline suggests that and the performance suggests that.

“Performances have been good and, on the back of Saturday, I was hoping for a little bit more.

“You could see we were physically devoid of energy. We couldn't press. We had no legs. We couldn't get near them.

“We'd expended a lot of energy on Saturday and maybe tonight was just a bridge too far.

“That's not like us. We haven't been playing like that.

“It's one of those nights you have to lick your wounds, take your beating and maybe congratulate Oldham.

“They were the better team on the night and we didn't deserve anything out of the game.”

He continued: “It's not a one-off performance. Over the course of the season it's happened on numerous occasions but it's the first time I have seen such a performance since I arrived. Too many players had an off night.

“There were a lot of the basics we didn't do right. We turned the ball over cheaply when we got it back. We didn't get near men, we didn't close down, we didn't press.

“I didn't believe after Saturday that we'd cracked it – not a chance.

“Away from home as soon as Oldham drew first blood we looked like we'd gone backwards and were devoid of confidence.”

Suddenly the Carlisle game has assumed even more importance.

“Now we have to lift ourselves and go again on Saturday,” said Coughlan.

“We have to rally the troops for the weekend as the weekend becomes important to us now.

“Six points from nine would be decent, given the circumstances. A second win in a week might be something for us to build on.”