After managing Accrington for 12 years, this was the longest he has kept his team in a dressing room after a match – and that showed how furious John Coleman was.
The Reds boss felt his side needed to analyse where they have gone wrong over the 90 minutes where Crewe, who hadn’t had the best of starts to the season, took an early two-goal lead on Saturday and never looked back.
Despite having chance after chance, the Reds could not convert one and the defeat in one of their ‘must-win’ home games if they are to challenge again at the top of the table left Coleman fuming.
"I felt it was a good time to keep the players in and talk it over as probably the last 20 minutes and after the game is the most frustrated I have felt in a long time," said the Reds chief.
"A lot of the players have been told in no uncertain terms how I feel.
"Some people take football as a job and it is but it’s my life and, as long as I am on this earth, it will always be my life.
"Sometimes I maybe take it on a bit too much and sometimes take it home a bit too much but I am not going to change.
"It is my life and it always will be and that’s why I get so upset and disappointed."
Coleman admitted that the loss has forced him to look at himself despite being the most successful manager in Accrington’s history with three promotions and a play-off berth in last season’s campaign and this was with off-the-field financial problems and a low budget.
"The first thing you have got to do when you have a defeat like this at home is look at yourself and look at the things you did and what you could have done differently," said Coleman.
"I think there are areas where I can improve and I think I made a couple of mistakes last week in some of the training we put on and possibly one or two errors in my selection process but that’s all part of the learning curve.
"Saying that, the side we put out on¿Saturday had more chances than Crewe and enough chances to win the game. So, while you are always trying to improve, you have also got to be realistic."
And one sign of that realism was Stanley legend Paul Beck doing the half-time draw.
The striker was the Reds’ non-league hero through their FA¿Cup success of the 1990s where the HFS Loans Premier side faced old Division Three Crewe – managed by Dario Gradi – at Ewood Park in the second round in front of 10,000 and suffered a 6-1 loss.
That was almost 20 years ago – it shows how far Stanley have risen and it’s a sign of how far they have come that Coleman can say, and believe, the following words.
"No disrespect to Crewe but we should be beating the likes of Crewe at home," he stated.
This has caused a reaction from the Alex manager Gradi who said: "He has preceded that by saying ‘no disrespect’ and when people say that, you can be sure they’ll show disrespect."
Disrespectful or not, the Reds did create enough opportunities but, after Gradi’s men scored two quickfire goals in the 11th and 13th minutes, Stanley were dangerous but weren’t clinical and that proved costly.
Stanley only lost three league games at home in the entire campaign last season which took them to fifth spot in League Two.
They have lost two already this season and that puts the pressure on their away form and they still need to get that right, having not won on their travels since February.
But what was frustrating was that the Reds did enough for victory – having 11 efforts on goal to Crewe’s eight – but two mistakes turned the game in the visitors’ favour.
Firstly Peter Murphy lost the ball in midfield and Crewe’s big asset was breaking at speed, which they did.
They had some luck with Shaun Miller’s shot deflecting to Ajay Leitch-Smith at the far post but he still did well to volley home at an angle.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, three minutes later, Alex again broke quickly.
Ashley Westwood’s through ball cut through the Reds’ defence and found winger Byron Moore who raced through one-on-one to slot home.
Crewe could then sit back and defend – which they did well – and hit the Reds on the break if necessary while Stanley had to go all out for the goal.
But the chances were there. At 1-0 Wes Fletcher shot just off-target and Murphy’s header was collected by leaping keeper Steve Phillips.
Then, with Stanley trailing by the two goals, a Craig Lindfield corner found Kevin Long unmarked at the far post but his strike was cleared off the line by Luke Murphy.
The Reds had another great chance when Fletcher’s cross found captain Andy Procter and everyone expected to see the net bulge but he somehow fired wide of the target instead.
And more followed, with Fletcher feeding Lindfield in the area. He went over in a crowd of bodies, appealing for a penalty, but ref Andrew Madley put Lindfield’s name in his book instead.
Peter Murphy thought he had finally got the vital goal on the stroke of half-time when Procter’s shot was deflected to the midfielder and he rifled the ball goalwards but the Reds found Crewe keeper Phillips in supreme form as he tipped it onto the crossbar.
The chances kept coming after the break but the Reds seemed to lack the urgency and a breakthrough just didn’t seem on the cards.
Fletcher wasted a great chance when a cross evaded a host of bodies and came to the Burnley loanee at the far post but it was so high and wide it was over the stand.
Coleman put Ian Craney on after 54 minutes and he came close with a curling effort which wasn’t far off the top corner.
And Procter had a late header caught by Phillips but, unlike in the last three games where the Reds have grown stronger and scored late goals, by that stage Stanley never looked like finding the back of the net
"We have shown spirit and appetite this season but that deserted us the longer the game went on and that was more disappointing than anything," said Coleman.
"We had the better chances but wasted them and, in the last 20 minutes, we just ran out of steam dramatically.
"We weren’t good enough but our own standards but it still could have been enough to win the game.
"All we can do is work harder. If we are taking none in six chances then we have got to create 12, that’s the only answer."
