CREWE Alexandra manager Steve Davis admits he was not expecting a 5-1 defeat at Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday night.

The Railwaymen experienced their biggest defeat of the season at Adams Park despite their impressive performance in Football League Two so far.

A double from substitute Scott Kashket, on his home debut, and goals from Sam Wood, Paris Cowan-Hall and Dominic Gape put the game to bed.

Crewe’s George Cooper scored in the second half but proved to be just a consolation goal.

Davis said: “I didn’t see that coming at all because of the way we have played this season. It was a very disappointing night for us and an off night for us because we have played well this season.

“I have been their biggest fan of what they have achieved so far and what they have done has been good.

“They have worked hard and I cannot fault their effort but there were no positives from tonight. No one comes away with any credit and we have to move on quickly.”

The Alex boss felt his defensive line was not up to scratch.

He added: “We gave away some really silly goals tonight and our timing with our line was wrong and they got in behind too often.

“We gave away some silly goals and we didn’t recover from it and it could have been worse because Ben (Garrett) has made a couple of saves.

“Wycombe deserve credit as well because they had a game plan, stuck to it and their football was effective.

“They pressed us and went longer than us but we didn’t cope and it was a real off day from us.

“We actually played some good football in the first half and at 1-0 we were really in the game.

“Their goalkeeper made two outstanding saves and we somehow found ourselves 3-0 down at half-time.

“If we managed to have gone 1-1 it could have been different but it was one of those nights where nothing went right for us.

“We will go through the DVD tomorrow and make more judgements then. It is sometimes better to step back and have another look, especially with the goals we conceded. We have to digest it, learn from it and move on.

“We have Mansfield at home on Saturday and how we bounce back and react will be important.

“They are a good group and the mental side of our game has improved but this will be our first real test and now we have to respond.”

The result drags the Alex down to eighth place but joint with Carlisle United and Grimsby Town for the last play-off spot and six points behind leaders Plymouth Argyle.

Alex hope to put midweek’s disappointment behind them when they host Mansfield Town on Saturday (3pm) at Gresty Road.