Gareth Ainsworth said he had to give a half time rocket to his players to warn them they are in danger of letting their high standards slip.

The Wanderers boss was prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt on Tuesday night, as their poorest performance for some time brought with it an end to their 12 match unbeaten run with a 2-0 loss to Plymouth Argyle.

But there was a hangover from that display in the first half of this afternoon’s game against Newport County, and another concerning below par performance paved the way for a second successive defeat.

Wanderers did at least appear to have the stomach for a fight when they re-emerged fired up for the second half, with Fred Onyedinma pouncing on a spill from visiting keeper Joe Day to bring the scores level.

The usual desire and energy levels that had been so sorely lacking in the opening 45 minutes suddenly came back to the fore, but Blues couldn’t add to their tally and were hit by a late goal against the run of play as County midfielder Yan Klukowski netted his second goal of the game.

On eight previous occasions this season Blues have picked up points after conceding the first goal, and Ainsworth said a return to the attitude his players showed earlier in the campaign would have seen them home this afternoon.

The Blues boss said: “We’ve lost two games, we’re still in the top three, which is fantastic and testament to how they have been. They have to get that intensity back, that attitude we had at the start of the season, and we won’t be far wrong.

“I did have a few stern words at half time. I didn’t on Tuesday because they had done so well for me [in recent weeks], but we can’t let this standard that we’ve set slip.

“There were stern words and it’s the reaction I wanted to see second half. It’s now getting that for the whole of the game. We can play like that, we have played like that. The intensity we play at is part of what we are here at Wycombe, and we need to produce that week in, week out.

“The players have got to get back to the standards they have set earlier in the season. They’ve been fantastic for me and I’m not going to kill the players in an interview. It’s frustrating that we know what they can do and sometimes when they don’t do it, it’s why and what can we do – myself as much as anyone.

“First half we weren’t as intense. Second half we came out and we were fired up. Why we weren’t fired up in the first half, I don’t know, but we need to start games with the intensity we are finishing games with and we’ll be back on track.”

Ainsworth added: “We definitely should have drawn. It was a sucker punch to concede when we did.

“We deserved something but when you don’t stick your chances in, you’re in trouble.

“Again it’s individual errors at a set play – it’s not like teams are tearing us apart.”