Micky Mellon said he could not defend his Tranmere Rovers players after two of them were sent off in the defeat to Bristol Rovers.
The Gas recorded their first league win of the season with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Jonson Clarke-Harris and Tyler Smith.
Yet they were helped on their way thanks to red cards to Tranmere duo Corey Blackett-Taylor and Ollie Banks.
Mellon admitted post-match that both players deserved their reds and that he was disappointed with how his side played.
He said: "They were both sendings-off. Blackett-Taylor is a young player still learning the game and this was a harsh lesson for him.
"Banks wasn’t sure he had been booked in the first half and there was some confusion over that yellow card. But he should have found out from the referee before making the challenge that brought the second caution.
"Our nine men battled really hard and we had a good chance to score before their second goal. But I’m disappointed with how we played in the first half against a side we knew we could make nervous in front of their own fans.
"We didn’t compete well enough. Bristol Rovers asked certain questions of us and we never answered them.
"But we were still in the game at 1-0. I changed one or two things at half-time, but in the end we have given ourselves a mountain to climb with two ridiculous red cards."
