Schoolboy stuff

A dissappointed David Dunn.

ATHLETIC manager David Dunn compared his hapless defence with that of primary school children, as his side crashed to a heavy loss on home soil last night.

Southend won 5-2 at SportsDirect.com Park — a shocking result that leaves Athletic in the relegation zone in Sky Bet League One.

Dunn today sat down his squad for a lengthy video session detailing exactly what went so badly wrong against the Shrimpers.

He pulled no punches in the press conference after the game, either, detailing his frustration at an appalling start that led to the home team being 3-0 down just after half-time.

“We will all go in (today) and watch it and absolutely dissect it, that is for sure. Because we can’t keep making the same mistakes,” Dunn said.

“They were two set pieces for the first two goals and we had been okay at set pieces previous to that. That second-phase defending, not staying with your men, is just basic errors.

“I would expect to see that from my eight-year-old when he plays on Saturday mornings.

“In the first half, and we have talked about it all week since Barnsley, I didn't see anything once again.

“It has got to come from within sometimes. And I don’t see enough people out there taking enough responsibility for their own performance.

“That is simply not good enough. We can’t be 3-0 down before we roll up our sleeves and start competing.

“Alright, we huffed and puffed and gave it a bit if a go to get it back to 3-2. Then it was the same old story.

“The goals were so soft, let’s be fair. I will try to protect the players as much as I can but you can’t legislate for that.”

Though Michael Higdon pulled back two goals in the second half to make it 3-2 — he also missed a penalty in between — the Shrimpers’ two-goal cushion was restored less than a minute later on the break.

The final indignity came when goalkeeper David Cornell was out-jumped at the far post by Luke Prosser, leaving the 184 visiting supporters cock-a-hoop.

Dunn now starts to prepare his side for the visit to bottom club Crewe on Saturday — the only side in the division with a home record worse than Athletic’s.

“It is very frustrating, but it is important that as a manager you have to be very positive and as hard as it is at the moment, dust yourself down as quickly as you can,” Dunn added.

“We have another game in a few days.

“There is a lot of work to do between now and Saturday — but that is what we will be doing.”

Cameron Dummigan was ruled out of last night’s contest after picking up an injury in training, but Mike Jones did make a return to the bench as an unused substitute.

Jake Cassidy comes back into the equation for the Gresty Road trip, but at the back Dunn may have to work with what he has already got rather than bringing anyone in at this stage.

“I wouldn't just bring someone in for the sake of it,” he said. “But we are soft and they are basic individual errors that are costing us massively.”