JOSH Dacres-Cogley says Wanderers cannot hide behind fatigue or injuries for their collapse against Carlisle United.

Despite leading 1-0 at one stage, Bolton slumped to their first defeat against the Cumbrians since 1977 with a dire display that leaves many questions as the club go into the international break.

Ex-Rangers and Bradford City midfielder Jordan Gibson helped himself to a hat-trick, the first scored against Bolton since 2019 when Mason Mount claimed the match-ball for Derby County.

Wanderers were missing players like Ricardo Santos, Gethin Jones, Paris Maghoma and Carlos Mendes Gomes and had others playing with pain-killing injections – and while that had been enough to carve out gritty wins against Port Vale and Stevenage in the past two games, Dacres-Cogley reckons Paul Simpson’s Carlisle showed “more fight” to claim their three points and a second win of the campaign.

The wing-back also refused to use tiredness as the reason for under-performing.

“We can’t use that as an excuse,” he said. “We are all fit lads and we knew what we needed to do. We just weren’t good enough.

“It was very disappointing, especially at home, we should be taking the points against anyone in this league and we gave away cheap goals that were unlike us.

“It was all in our hands and we gave them the cheap goals. We had plenty of opportunities to go and hurt them, we just didn’t. They showed more fight than us on the day.

“We have to move on, have this little break and continue to get back on a run.”

Wanderers drop to sixth, having taken 20 points from 11 games, and are now a couple shy of Ian Evatt’s two-points-per-game target.

They will have to dwell on the Carlisle defeat for some time yet as Dion Charles, Eoin Toal, Josh Sheehan and Zac Ashworth head off on international duty, with the next game coming against Northampton Town on October 21.

“You want to get straight back out there after a loss like that,” Dacres-Cogley added. “We will just have to sit patiently, wait for our chance to put it right against Northampton.”

It is not all doom and gloom in the Dacres-Cogley household, however, and the former Birmingham City man has been proud to welcome his and partner Madeline’s first child, Leroux, recently.

With mum and son doing well, he will at least have something else to occupy his thoughts during the break.

“It has been amazing,” he said of fatherly life. “I’m obviously really happy that everyone is healthy and well, and it is a crazy experience the first one. I’ m really happy.”

Wanderers confirmed on Saturday that midfielder Nelson Khumbeni and full-back Max Conway have completed a loan move to National League AFC Fylde.

Both players made their debut in Saturday’s 3-0 defeat against Oxford City.