John Sheridan was critical of his side's defending after Athletic were eliminated from this season's Carling Cup by Burnley at Turf Moor.

Martin Paterson grabbed a second-half brace to secure a 3-0 win after team-mate Chris McCann had opened the scoring with a header 12 minutes in.

While Latics battled hard against Championship opposition, Sheridan was unhappy with the circumstances surrounding each of the hosts' goals.

And the Boundary Park chief highlighted a lack of concentration as key to the result.

"I am very disappointed to have lost the game 3-0 because funnily enough I was pleased with the way we were playing for the first hour," he said.

"Even at 1-0 I thought we matched them, but the second goal killed us.  All the goals were soft and very poor on our behalf.

"People weren't switched on at crucial times and that's cost us in the end."

Sheridan drew many similarities between the game and last year's tie between the two sides, which also ended 3-0.

He explained: "It was a repeat of last season - we were in the game with an hour gone and then they get a goal out of nothing.

"Burnley didn't have to work hard for their goals and I'm gutted for the fans because they were brilliant."

Sheridan must now pick the squad back up when they return to training on Thursday ahead of a crucial League One clash with Colchester United.

Athletic lead the table with a maximum haul of nine points and the Latics chief is targeting another victory to add to the tally.

"We lost the game 3-0 here and it's gone now," he said.  "The main thing is to look ahead and concentrate on getting a positive result at Colchester on Saturday."