Peterborough United midfielder on collective responsibility, being too nice to each other and riding out a storm

Posh went down 3-1 at Adams Park despite taking the lead early in the second-half through Ricky-Jade Jones. The hosts sent on substitute striker Richard Kone and he promptly delivered a 10-minute hat-trick, helped by some untidy, and baffling, defending.

Posh have now conceded 24 goals in 12 League One games, the joint-most in the top four divisions alongside League Two strugglers Carlisle United. Darren Ferguson’s side are now the only team in the third tier yet to keep a clean sheet after Cambridge picked up their first win of the campaign, 2-0 at home to Wigan Athletic.

Collins insists it’s a collective issue and he’s backing his team to ride out the current storm.

"We need to start valuing the clean sheet,” Collins told the Posh Plus service. “That’s how you win games. It’s clearly our biggest problem right now and stopping the goals we are conceding has to be our priority right now. It’s a collective issue though. It’s not just the boys at the back. We are a good group, but maybe we can be too nice to each other. We do have to stick together though and ride out the storm.

"All we can do is keep plugging away. We need get up every morning and be ready for work and if we do that things will turn in our favour sooner rather than later.

"We didn’t start this game well at all. We struggled for the first half an hour, but we managed to stay in the game. We started the second half on the front foot and we looked bright and scored our goal. We had an opportunity for another one as well, but it didn’t go in. Then we conceded and our theme this season of conceding another very quickly happened again. We have to manage games better at certain times which is proving easier said than done.”

Posh were reduced to 10 men by a red card for Emmanuel Fernandez after he conceded the penalty which gave Wycombe their final goal, but they rallied briefly with Collins striking the post with a fine shot from distance.

"That’s the way our luck is at the moment,” Collins added. “That might have gone in last season.”