Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson reckons he is “wasting his time” with the “softest” squad he has ever worked with.
The “embarrassed” Posh manager labelled his players as a “shambles” after his side were put to the sword 5-1 at Lincoln.
The impressive Imps closed the gap to the play-off spots to four points after goals from Dom Jefferies, Tom Bayliss, Freddie Draper — from the spot — Cian Hayes’ own goal and James Collins.
Ricky-Jade Jones got a goal back to make it 3-1, but Posh went down with a whimper at Sincil Bank.
Ferguson said: “I’m embarrassed. It was an embarrassing performance.
“I’ve never seen that from a Peterborough United team at this level. It was embarrassing.
“The first goal was a free header. We just let them score and do what they wanted.
“It was a mess. A complete mess. If you don’t run, you don’t tackle, don’t have a real desire to turn up every game then that’s what happens.
“That’s the problem with this group. They haven’t got the desire. They have not got the desire as a group.
“It’s just basics. They don’t run, don’t tackle, don’t head. They don’t tackle properly. It was a shambles. I don’t often say that about my teams, but I’m sorry, I have to be honest.
“This group of players is without doubt the softest group of players I’ve ever had in my management career.
“We changed the shape at half-time and then give away a horrendous penalty – what is he doing?
“I don’t know. It’s my group of players and all the rest of it. But sometimes you think you’re wasting your time.
“It’s easily my worst defeat as a Peterborough manager. The manner of it. More than half the fans left before the end. That tells the story.”
Lincoln boss Michael Skubala urged his five-star side to keep their feet firmly on the floor.
He said: “The supporters were magnificent and were really behind us. We’re going to need that. We’re still a young group even though we have brought some experienced heads in.
“Not every game’s going to be like this and be 5-1. We’re going to have tough games because it’s a tough league.
“If we keep performing and keep pushing then we will keep picking up those points.
“We’ve hit a few results we weren’t happy with, but it’s so tight. It’s really knife-edge at times.
“I keep saying it, this group has great character. Not everything will be right. We need to keep pushing and keep improving.
“If we play like that every week we will be in a good spot.”