Colchester United were thumped at Forest Green Rovers

Those mischievous words rather fell on deaf ears given that, by that time, the vast majority of the U’s 278 fans who were present had already trudged out of the exit doors.

Not all of them, though.

Some remained to engage in conversation with a handful of Colchester’s players including Mandela Egbo, Joe Taylor and Connor Hall; some of the chatter was calm, some perhaps not.

READ MORE: Colchester boss Ben Garner on Forest Green defeat

Sadly, there’s been nothing remotely enjoyable about supporting the U’s, over the last week or two.

Just when Colchester’s followers perhaps felt that things could not get any worse after seeing their side crash to a miserable home defeat to a ten-man Morecambe, their team served up an even more demoralising result, seven days later.

There were mitigating circumstances; when Jay Mingi was sent off after picking up a needless second yellow card early in the second half, the U’s deficit was only one goal and they were well in the game.

But what followed after that was a U’s capitulation, against a team who had lost their previous six league games in a row and had started the day bottom of the League Two table.

It was Colchester's heaviest league defeat since their 6-1 reverse at Exeter City in November, 2020.

Now Forest Green are level on points with the U’s, who themselves are only sitting out of the relegation zone on goal difference.

That’s pretty ironic, given that Colchester have now shipped 14 goals in their last four games.

Ill-discipline has not exactly helped their cause.

Mingi’s dismissal was the U’s third red card in their last four games, something that has proved very costly for them both in game situations and in general.

READ MORE: Match report as Colchester crash to defeat at Forest Green

Arthur Read has missed two matches since receiving a straight red card for petulantly kicking out at Newport County substitute Kiban Rai earlier this month – but it feels like he has been out for a lot longer, such was his form prior to his dismissal.

Read still has one more league match to serve of his ban and Colchester will be counting down the days until he returns.

Garner has spoken a number of times over recent weeks about mentality.

There is an alarming fragility about the U’s right now and their inability to respond to setbacks is proving particularly detrimental, as was the case at Forest Green.

The manner of their collapse against a side who themselves had been struggling for confidence was an indication of where Colchester currently find themselves and the size of the job Garner has on his hands.

At the same time, it’s hard to believe that barely a fortnight has passed since the U’s beat then leaders Notts County, after producing a dazzling display which provided genuine optimism that they could challenge at the right end of the table.

Performances against Mansfield Town and Gillingham were also impressive prior to that but since then, injuries and suspensions have taken their toll and Colchester have badly lost their way.

After three successive defeats and a thumping at a venue that prides itself on sustainability, the U’s must quickly discover a way of becoming a more productive force, both in the short and long term.