Garry Monk was not surprisingly disappointed in the performance of his team against Stoke on Monday night but says he is not worried by the loss of form that has seen his side not win a game since August.

There has to come a time when that disappointment does turn to worry as the team put in yet another sub standard performance that saw us fail to really test the Stoke goalkeepers ability with Jonjo Shelvey's late shot against the post being the closest we ever came to scoring.

Garry is right when he said the players are good players but at the moment they are underperforming and whilst not winning games is one thing it is the manner we are failing to win that is setting the alarm bells ringing more and that is something that we need to worry about in my book.

We go to Aston Villa on Saturday in desperate search of a win and a defeat there could see us staring in the wrong direction at the table looking downwards rather than up as the season passes the quarter way mark.

So it will be interesting to see what he gets from his players this week who certainly owe him and us a performance after we surrendered our home record without a fight.

“We have not been at the levels we need to beat and that is disappointing. We all know what this group is capable of and what we can produce, but it is up to me to work with the players, to make sure we stick together and get back to the levels we know we can reach," said Monk.

“We are not performing as we should be. The effort and commitment is there, but the crispness of our passing is not and I have to make sure we get back to where we were.

We are in a tough moment, there is no doubt about that, but we have been in tough moments before.

“Last season we went five games without a win and we came out of that and went on to have a magnificent season.

“I have had these time before as a manager. It is about sticking together and turning in performances.

“But I am not overly concerned. It is just about finding that confidence.”

Photo: Action Images

Colchester United Polls