Ronnie Moore bemoaned Tranmere's defending after they went down 4-2 to Colchester at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.
Colchester halted a run of 11 games without a win in some style, with goals from Ian Henderson, Tom Eastman, Ian Goodison's own goal and Freddie Sears, while James Wallace and Jake Cassidy replied for Moore's side.
Moore said: "It was a disappointing result for us. But we can't defend the way that we defended. There were lots of pluses for me and I wasn't disappointed with the way we were going forward.
"But I was certainly disappointed with the way that we defended and we looked too vulnerable down the middle.
"I hope it was a one-off and it wasn't like (Ian) Goodison to give away an own goal like that. Maybe it was because the crowd got on his back, but he certainly wasn't himself.
"Our two centre-halves have had an absolute torrid time. If we'd had kept it right there, I think that we would have taken something out of the game."
