SWINDON Town boss Ian Holloway branded his team’s display ‘unacceptable’ after they were swept aside by Colchester United.

The Robins are now rooted to the bottom of the League Two table following their 4-0 defeat at the U's.

Samson Tovide's brace, along with Jack Payne's strike and an own goal from Harry Smith put Colchester in complete control by half-time.

READ MORE: Colchester fans have their say on dominant win over Swindon

And although Swindon produced a more spirited performance in the second half, it was too little, too late for them to salvage anything from the game.

He said: “The goal wounded us and then everything we were doing before that goal stopped.

“The energy that they got from it and the energy that we lost because of it was absolutely unforgivable because in truth, we were beaten there and then.

“Two goals down again and they just ran all over us.

“I haven’t seen that from my lot; I’ve seen mistakes and I’ve seen us come back and turn it around but to that was unacceptable and I’m shocked.

(Image: STEVE BRADING)

“I didn’t expect that from these lads, with the fight that they showed at the weekend until the penalties scenario.

“Your heart and soul should be fighting for the people who have driven all the way up here tonight to watch you play and you looked like you don’t care – it’s unacceptable and they know that.

“Did I play too many who played the 120 minutes (at Accrington)? I’ll have to look at that.

"But it isn't good enough and let's face it, we're in the mire right now and we deserve to be after that."

READ MORE: Danny Cowley's verdict on Colchester's win over Swindon

Holloway has vowed to make his players watch the first half of the Colchester game again, after they produced a dire display in the opening 45 minutes.

Holloway continued: "It was unacceptable and anybody with a Swindon badge on, I apologise.

"That was not good enough and I'm going to show them what that looked like - they're going to watch every single minute of that first half and say 'what happened, where are you'.

"The fight that I expect them to have, I didn't see it until the second half but that's too late and I'm hurting badly.

"We're absolutely rooted to the bottom, so every single game is going to get as tough as you like and if that's how we respond, I might need the cavalry to come in."