Paul Grayson admits Essex were disappointing in their record defeat to Hampshire – but hopes it is just an "accident".
Essex were thrashed by 470 runs – their largest ever Championship defeat by runs – at the Ageas Bowl after twice being bowled out for less than 140 on a pitch where James Vince on his own scored 240.
Grayson admitted the loss led to some "harsh words" in the dressing room, but is determined to make sure it is just a one off.
"I just hope it's an accident," he said. "It was a really poor performance from day one. They got too many runs and too many extras on a pitch that offered plenty.
"But there's no excuses for that performance, there were a few harsh words in the dressing room afterwards from one or two people and now we want a positive response when we play Gloucester in ten days' time.
"You can talk as long as you want in the dressing room about areas to improve on but it's about putting it into action and I'm expecting a response in our next Championship match.
"It was a really disappointing performance with bat and ball, we were completely outplayed. It was a big game against a team that was above us and for one reason or another we just didn't perform."
After Friday night's T20 game with Middlesex at Chelmsford, Essex have a week off after a busy period, and Grayson thinks the rest will do his team a lot of good.
"I think it's a good thing," he added. "We looked a bit tired this week. I'd never give the players any excuses but we have had a big schedule over the last three weeks with travelling and playing so I think we need a bit of time away from the game.
"We've obviously got a big game on Friday night against Middlesex in the T20, and then it'll be a case of some of the boys getting some time off and resting their bodies a bit for another busy period."
Essex's injury list has dissipated in recent weeks, with Graham Napier the only notable injury absentee at the moment.
And that makes the slump on the south coast all the harder to take for Essex's head coach.
"I think the most disappointing thing about the result was that bar a couple of players we were back to full strength," he added.
"In the last few weeks when we've been really struggling for numbers we've found a way of getting into games, but the fact here is that everyone was probably available who we wanted to pick and that made it more disappointing to be honest.
"You can't beat yourself up too much because county matches come thick and fast, you have to learn very quickly and move on to the next game."
