Frankie Kent insists Colchester United’s players must take collective responsibility for the club’s poor run of form following their defeat at Southend United.

The U’s players and management held an open discussion in the changing room that lasted around half an hour, in the immediate aftermath of their 3-0 derby loss at Roots Hall.

Colchester remain bottom of League One and are now eight points adrift of safety, following their defeat against the Shrimpers.

And centre-back Kent, who returned to the U’s starting line-up for the first time in more than two months against Southend, has stressed it is down to all of their players to stand up and be counted.

Kent said: “We’re all in the same team – no-one can take individual blame for the results and it’s a team game.

“The conversation we had in the changing room afterwards was helpful and it was a good insight into everything.

“It’s not quite clicking for us at the moment but I’m sure that it will.

“We have to carry on working hard and looking forward.

“We have the players to win games, like we did at the start of the season.

“It’s just the little things have just got to click but we’re doing as much as we can in training and in matches.”

Colchester played for around an hour of their game at Southend with only ten men, following Alex Gilbey’s first-half dismissal.

But after a brave and committed effort, they conceded three times in the final eight minutes to lose.

“We held out for a very long time with the ten men – the boys did brilliantly defensively and we also looked like we had a bit going forward too, on the counter,” said Kent.

“It’s a feeling of frustration, because the boys did brilliantly for the 80 minutes.

“It was so disappointing, considering how long we had stayed in the game.”

Kent’s appearance against Southend was his first Colchester start since their defeat at league leaders Burton Albion, last November.

He replaced Alex Wynter, who is sidelined following his head injury in the U’s FA Cup defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

The 20-year-old added: “I was really happy to be back in but obviously under difficult circumstances with what happened with Alex (Wynter).

“It was my first start for quite a while and I wanted to come in and do a job for the team.

“I’m glad to be back in and hopefully, I can try and help the team push forward.”

For five pages of coverage of the U's game with Southend United, see Monday's Daily Gazette.