Iron boss Russ Wilcox urged his side to go back to basics following their 2-1 defeat to Leyton Orient at Glanford Park on Saturday.
Having secured an impressive victory over Coventry City four days earlier, the hosts fell behind to the O’s with less than three minutes on the clock when Scott Cuthbert steered home Dean Cox’s corner with his head.Such a slow start to the contest saw United go into the break behind, and Wilcox told The Iron Player: “There were harsh words at half-time, because we can do better.
“We looked a little bit lacklustre, our passing wasn’t crisp, and we didn’t have options for the man on the ball like we did on Tuesday night. Against Coventry, although they had 10 men, we were the better team, played on the front foot, and moved the ball around the pitch to create opportunities.
“That didn’t happen today, but every game is different.“
United responded following the restart, and found themselves level within four minutes of the second period getting underway courtesy of a finely-taken Matt Sparrow goal.
However, a Jobi McAnuff effort two minutes later sealed victory for Orient, and Wilcox added: “At half-time we couldn’t affect the first 45, but we could affect the second 45, and we did that.
“We came out the traps, scored an absolutely delightful goal to give the stadium a lift, and then again shot ourselves in the foot by giving away a cheap goal. That’s what we’re doing at the moment.
“I keep saying the same things; teams won’t allow us to score goals like that, we have to score a top-class goal. The goals we’re giving away are not acceptable, and we’ve got to do the basics better.
“That’s as a team, not just the back four and the goalkeeper. We’ve stepped up a level, so if you don’t do that, you’ll get punished.“
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