John Coleman hopes time spent watching a DVD of the Ipswich game will pay off against Southend at the Wham Stadium on Saturday.
The Stanley boss admitted about the 4-1 defeat at Portman Road last Saturday: ‘I haven’t seen us play that bad in one half of the game’ as his side trailed 3-0 at half-time.
The 17th placed Reds have a chance to rectify it when they take on Sol Campbell’s Southend, who are 22nd in the league with one league win this season.
“We watched the first half of the Ipswich game on Monday and that took us the best part of three-and-a-half hours to dissect it,” said Coleman.
“It was a frank open discussion, there was lots of input from the players and hopefully we have set a process in place to avoid it in the future.
“I haven’t seen us play that bad in one half of football and we have got to hope it is a one-off. There were a lot of players not firing at the same time, eight or nine who were below par, and Ipswich were up for the game.
“We have got to get back to winning ways and that will come down to hard work and players understanding their role in the team and carrying it out.
“If we play like that we won’t win another game this season.”
Southend are firmly rooted in the relegation places with 10 points but have drawn four out of their last five games.
“They have stopped the rot a little bit, they have only lost once in five games and we know it will be a tough game,” said Coleman.
“They are fighting for their lives and we will have to be at our best if we are to get anything out of the game.
“Sol Campbell has had an impact, he had such a successful playing career that he will get a response out of the players but as his job goes on it’s to back it up with setting up the team and getting the players to play how he wants.”
Coleman admits he is still looking to add to his squad with winger Sean McConville out for the rest of the season but he is hoping Jordan Clark will be back after a hamstring injury.
“In my opinion, Sean McConville and Jordan Clark are the two best wideman in the league and it’s difficult to cope without both of them but we have to get on with it.
“I was hoping Jordan would be fit for the Ipswich game but he wasn’t and again I am hoping he will be fit for this weekend but you can’t rush a hamstring injury. Jordan will know when he is right and when he comes back he will give 100 per cent.
“It is a slow process trying to sign players but we hope to get a couple in.”