Stand-in boss Lee Clarke admitted St Neots Town let themselves down for the second time in five days.
Clarke questioned the quality and desire of Saints players in the wake of a Southern League Premier Division derby defeat at the hands of Cambridge City yesterday.
Saints slumped to a 3-0 loss at the Premier Plus Stadium yesterday to complete a miserable week which also featured an FA Cup replay drubbing at lower-level Stamford AFC.
They found themselves two goals adrift inside the opening 10 minutes against City and their fate was effectively sealed when defender Taylor Parr was dismissed on the stroke of half-time for the second successive match.
Parr saw red after being adjudged to have dragged down Tunde Adewummi, who had earlier hit Cambridge City’s opener before Dean Mason doubled the visitors’ lead. They clinched victory with a third goal from Charlie Woolfe late on.
Clarke said: “We let ourselves down in the FA Cup exit at Stamford in midweek and we did the same again against Cambridge City.
“We had trained well on Thursday and the players appeared to be in a bubbly mood before the game, but as soon as the whistle was blown we went into our shell.
“We were already 2-0 down by the time we got any recognisable shape or structure to our play, and we didn’t look like we had the desire to get back into the game.
“I think the red card was harsh in all honesty, but we’re causing a lot of our own problems by allowing opposition players to get into areas of the pitch where that can happen.
“I’ve asked the players to have a long look at themselves as what they produced was nowhere near good enough.”
Saints face a quick return to action as they host Kettering on Tuesday night.
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