PORTLAND United boss Callum Brooks was “horrified” after the woeful Blues lost to Poole Town in a staggering 14-1 humiliation at the Weyline Stadium.

While only a pre-season friendly, Portland were abject off the ball with some players showing no appetite to dig in as the goals rained in.

Poole, who play two divisions above Portland, ran riot to lead 9-0 at the break as ex-Weymouth hitman Tony Lee bagged five goals.

Sean Wright netted a second-half hat-trick as the Dolphins plundered five more goals, Dom Panesar-Dower scoring a barely consolatory strike for the hosts.

Speaking to Echosport, an embarrassed Brooks – who coached at Poole for three years under boss Tom Killick – berated the Blues’ lack of discipline.

“Coming up against a team that could cut you open at will, I was disappointed with the discipline that was shown by the group,” he said.

“I do have to detach myself from the scoreline, but some of the goals and discipline horrified me.

“I thought Poole were very, very good but one of the last goals, our keeper made a save and there were four defenders versus one (Poole) player in the box – their player got there first.

“Things like that don’t sit right with me. You won’t see the difference in level when you’re talking about rebounds in boxes. That’s more of a mentality thing.

“It’s very easy to pin the blame on others when things don’t quite go your way. That’s something I’ll be shaking out of them ASAP.

“What I won’t accept is giving up and shifting the blame. It’s a bad night’s work but the main objective was to get minutes in the tank.

“The beauty of football is that you always get a quick opportunity to put things right.”

Brooks backed his players’ ability but expressed the need for fitness and mentality to rapidly improve.

He said: “I said to the lads after the game ‘how we leave this dressing room is the start of the next game.’

“I looked at the names on the board towards the end. Most of them are a shoo-in for reasonable players at this level.

“There’s no players who’ve got loads to prove and they don’t become bad players overnight – I said the same against Downton.

“There are some fitness and mentality issues that, unless addressed, will cost us at some point.

“The way the group took on information and fought when the going got tough didn’t do it to a level I want to be associated with long-term.”

Asked if he had grave concerns over the Blues’ defending, Brooks said: “I’m not one to single out specifically the back four.

“I have concerns about our defending, i.e. the whole group without the ball and their mentality.

“I’ll turn up for any scrap or fight and front it and brave it, no problem. What I won’t have is people giving up on each other or pointing the finger elsewhere.

“The squad we’ve got is more than good enough to compete in the Wessex League.

“But I have concerns, without a doubt, regarding our attitude to defending the penalty area. They’re all things that can be addressed and will be.

“I won’t suffer people that don’t want to put their head where it hurts or do the work that’s required to get themselves fit enough to move their feet properly.

“I can take it on the chin, I get there are teething problems and I will happily iron it out and build the team, but the mentality has to be right.

“We should be going to war with each other and (tomorrow) I’ll be standing on the touchline fighting in the FA Cup.”

Portland host Clevedon Town in the FA Cup extra-preliminary round tomorrow (7.45pm).