Colchester United boss John McGreal admitted it was an afternoon to forget for his side after they were thumped at Carlisle United.

The U's, who stay third in League Two despite losing, suffered their heaviest defeat of the season at Brunton Park, after being put to the sword by the Cumbrians.

Goals from Hallam Hope, Jerry Yates, Jamie Devitt and Danny Grainger meant that Colchester slumped to their joint heaviest defeat, under McGreal.

He said: “It was an afternoon to forget, especially for the travelling fans.

“It was a disappointing afternoon and one that you would never see coming after what’s happened of late.

"It was a tight first half and their keeper made a worldy, just before they scored.

"That was the only bright light that we had in the game.

“There’s no dressing it up – the second half was a really, really poor performance and it was the worst performance of the season.

"We'll analyse it but we can't get too disheartened.

"These games do spring up, as you can see from a couple of the other results.

"It just shows you how tight this league is.

"Maybe it's a bit of a wake-up call for us. because things had been going swimmingly well for us.

"Things like this can help you and that's the big thing.

"There's no better task now than to go and take on the top of the league side."

Colchester conceded their first goal just after the half hour when centre-back Frankie Kent was off the pitch, having received treatment for an injury.

But McGreal refused to use that as an excuse.

"He could have let him on a bit earlier but we haven't stopped the cross," said the U's boss.

"We didn't stop crosses and runs and second ball pick up in midfield, hold up play up top.

"If you look at the performances, to get something in this league you need a good seven players to perform and today, you're looking at 20 per cent from the boys who have performed to a certain level."

The wind and sleet made for a difficult climate for both sets of players but McGreal said: "The conditions were fine - it was a summer's afternoon up north really!

"People are in shorts and t-shirts so we have to get through it."