Humes refuses to point the finger of blame at his defenders

And after throwing away a two-goal lead before losing 4-2 at Shrewsbury on Saturday, he says his players must share the responsibility and bounce back in next weekend’s trip to Wigan Athletic.

Inevitably, Colchester’s back four came in for criticism following what turned out to be a torrid afternoon at Greenhous Meadow.

However, Humes insists that defending must be a collective effort and is hoping for a marked improvement at the DW Stadium.

“We win together and we lose together and it’s not just about the back four,” he said.

“If we keep giving the ball away in poor areas and playing it short, then teams are going to break against you and that’s what caused us problems.

“It’s about dealing with the basics of putting pressure on the ball, not allowing players to run off you and dealing with the player you’re marking.

“We conceded four goals from in and around the six-yard box, just because we couldn’t deal with the physical presence and movement of players.

“That’s where we were a few weeks ago – we came out of it but dropped back into it.

“We can’t accept that and the players can’t accept that.”

Humes believes his players now have an added incentive to do well at Wigan.

Saturday’s loss was their second in a row and they have now dipped to 12th in the League One table.

“The Wigan game is a huge game now,” said the Colchester boss.

“We said before the (Shrewsbury) game that good teams don’t lose two on the bounce.

“That says a lot about where we are at the minute and we have to bounce back.

“It’s going to be tough going to Wigan.

“They’re a good team with experienced players but we have to pick ourselves up.”