MATCH REACTION: '˜Stick together', says the manager who was abused by some Peterborough United fans

A 1-0 home defeat against a Gillingham team without a manager or an away win all season dropped Posh out of the play off places into seventh ahead of two tricky away games at Southend (October 17) and Scunthorpe (October 21).

McCann spent an hour locked away with first the players and then chairman Darragh McAnthony after a desperately poor performance before facing the media.

“The chairman is as frustrated as me and the players,” McCann stated. “But we won’t be throwing the toys out of the pram. We stayed together when we were winning earlier in the season and we will stay together now.

“I certainly didn’t see this performance coming. We’ve looked sharp all week, but we turned in a performance that was way short of our best. We were poor and Gillingham were good. They deserved to win.

“We looked like we had no energy. We lacked tempo, we couldn’t get around the pitch and it’s up to me and the management team to get to the bottom of it.

“Perhaps there’s a mentality problem with some of the players when they face a supposed weaker side. They don’t seem to want to run around as much as when they play teams like Wigan. If there is I will get to the bottom of it and anyone who does think like that will not be in the squad never mind the starting 11.

“What I do know is we have not became a bad team overnight. We have gone from being a very good side to an average one, but we will get back to the level we were at in the opening few matches.

“Finding a solution is what I’m paid for. That work will start tonight before the players are back in tomorrow to get ready for the Southend game.

“There’s a long way to go still. It’s still October so I’m not as concerned about our form as I would have been if it was now March. We had a post-Christmas blip last season and I’m hoping this blip is over soon.

“Form changes quickly. Oldham were out of form before they beat us and now they’ve won four in a row. It’s the same with Oxford.”

McCann revealed he received more personal abuse from frustrated Posh fans during today’s game than he’s previously experienced as a manager.

“I understand the frustration,” McCann added. “There are 4,000 managers in the stands at every home game.

“It was the worse abuse I’ve experienced, but I’m still enjoying this job and I’m still confident I can be a success.

“The rest of October is big for us now. We need nine points from three games.”

Posh also tackle unbeaten Shrewsbury at the ABAX in October (28th).

Midfielder Michael Doughty missed today’s defeat because of a back injury.