Colchester United were beaten 2-1 at home by Wrexham

Indeed, you would be hard pressed to find a more naturally positive, uplifting manager in the EFL.

So, for the Colchester United head coach boss to be as angry as he was come the final whistle following the painful defeat to Wrexham says much about how disappointed he was with the nature of his side's alarming decline from a winning position, resulting in a 2-1 home reverse.

READ MORE: Danny Cowley's reaction after U's home defeat to Wrexham

“He displayed how angry and upset he was, after the game,” admitted U’s striker John Akinde, whose goal looked to have set them on their way to a vital victory in their ongoing battle to avoid relegation from League Two.

“He wasn’t happy with the goals we conceded, which is understandable.”

Cowley’s post-match words were probably ringing in the ears of Colchester’s players, as they made their way home on Saturday night following a disappointing defeat.

On paper, it probably was not the outcome of a home game against a Wrexham side on course for automatic promotion that will dictate the U’s fate, this season.

Nevertheless, Colchester will be kicking themselves for allowing a golden opportunity to claim a precious victory pass them by, having been the better team for the bulk of the game in front of a sell-out crowd at the JobServe Community Stadium.

The U’s largely snuffed out the threat of Wrexham, the division’s fourth highest goalscorers, while at the same time looked dangerous themselves.

Colchester had had opportunities before Akinde clinically fired them ahead in the 54th minute.

It was a huge goal and one that lifted the majority of the bumper crowd of nearly 8,500.

READ MORE: Colchester United fans have their say on Wrexham defeat

It should have inspired the U’s to go on and win the game but sadly, it seemed  to have the opposite effect.

From that moment on, Wrexham took charge and Colchester seemed to mentally switch off.

Eight minutes after Akinde’s goal, the prolific Paul Mullin was allowed the freedom of the Colchester penalty area to equalise and it was no real surprise when Max Cleworth nodded in the visitors’ 85th-minute winner from George Evans’ throw, such was their dominance in the final half hour.

Colchester’s defending for both goals was at best sloppy and at worse, negligent.

Their lacklustre showing in the final half hour was inexplicable, particularly given how well they had played for the first two thirds of the game.

"The players don't deserve to talk about the good things - they don't deserve any credit tonight because the good things are irrelevant if you don't play for the whole game," said a frustrated Cowley afterwards.

The U's boss must now somehow lift his players for tomorrow night’s big clash with league leaders Stockport County, who are on the verge of automatic promotion to League One.

Needless to say, if Colchester are to claim a vital victory, they must play to their maximum capacity for the full 90-plus minutes and not just part of the game.