FURIOUS Dorchester Town boss Steve Thompson admitted he “lost it” with several members of his squad at half-time during the Magpies’ abject 1-0 home loss to Frome Town on Tuesday.

Coming just three days after a positive 3-2 win over sixth-placed Harrow Borough, the Magpies’ ninth home league defeat of the season came against their Evo-Stik Southern Premier South relegation rivals.

Frome consequently closed the gap on 15th-placed Dorchester to four points, although three points were not enough to lift the Robins from a lowly 21st.

Speaking to Echosport, Thompson raged after an “inept” display that was characterised by a lack of quality in the final third.

He said: “I’m absolutely gutted that we’ve turned in a tepid, inept performance on a night when we needed passion and desire.

“I don’t often lose my cool, but I lost it at half-time. Young players, or no young players, a few got it big time.

“But at the end of the day, I’ve brought most of these players here. It’s no good me throwing the players under the bus, I have to take blame with them – which I do.

“We’re all culpable, players, staff, management. We’re all culpable for a very poor performance.”

Asked if the players’ mindset prior to the game was a problem, Thompson explained preparations had been normal.

He said: “We try to get them in the zone. Our warm-up was no different than it was on Saturday.

“Every player has to have a degree of self motivation but we try to motivate the players.

“The players are just very inconsistent. It’s tough because a manager, one of the biggest things for him is consistency.

“I thought a couple of players had good performances, most of our crosses came from our right-back. But other players were way, way off the mark – quite a few.”

Uncharacteristically, goalkeeper Kingsley Latham’s spill led to Frome’s winning goal and Thompson was quick to back his gloveman.

He said: “He’s obviously gutted because he’s let in a very poor goal. He made two good saves, the one that was going right in the bottom corner he got fingertips to.

“But what has their keeper had to do? I don’t think he’s made a serious save. A lot of our balls (in) weren’t of the quality we want.

“When we did get good balls in there was neither the desire, the purpose, the intelligence or the technique to finish it off. It’s disappointing all round.”

Compounding Dorchester’s gruesome loss was Joe Low’s 93rd-minute red card.

The 16-year-old Bristol City loanee launched into a two-footed tackle off the ground on Frome defender Ricky Scott, leaving referee Daniel Flynn with no alternative but to brandish a straight red.

Thompson said: “It was getting niggly and nasty at the end. There were quite a few nasty tackles from both teams – I saw a couple right in front of me.

“I’m not saying (Low’s challenge) wasn’t nasty, but I’d like to see it again. He’s a young lad, he’s come in and didn’t do a lot wrong. He’s at the back and it’s probably a rash decision.

“In the last 10-15 minutes the game got very niggly, which again suited Frome. They do play for that to a certain extent, but I wouldn’t have a go at that because a team has to try and do everything it can to keep its position.

“You have to learn to cope with that as a football player. Young players find that a bit harder than experienced players who can manage situations better. I’m not going to slaughter (Low) for that.”