BRAVE Michael Rose has held his hands up and taken chief responsibility for Colchester United’s defeat to league leaders Charlton Athletic on Tuesday night.

BRAVE Michael Rose has held his hands up and taken chief responsibility for Colchester United’s defeat to league leaders Charlton Athletic on Tuesday night.

While some players might have kept quiet, or avoided talking about a below-par performance, Rose has come out and taken the blame for a nightmarish first-half display, and specifically his role in Charlton’s first goal.

The U’s left-back sent out an apology to Colchester United supporters on his Twitter account, within an hour of the 2-0 defeat to high-flying Charlton, and he has since repeated that apology in the build-up to tomorrow’s tough test at Huddersfield Town.

Rose’s stray pass kick-started the move that led to Bradley Wright-Phillips’ first goal for Charlton, and when the ex-Swindon left-back then failed to trap a routine pass later in the first period, he could have been forgiven for wanting the ground to swallow him up.

But Rose is made of sterner stuff!

“We had made a good start to the season, but we slipped a little bit at home, which is probably down to me, I am big enough to admit that,” insisted Rose yesterday.

“Everyone will be remembering the pass that I gave away that led to their first goal. That gave Charlton something to build on for the rest of the game.

“I take that on the chin, and it’s up to me now to move on and prove to the fans that I should be playing. Hopefully I will do that on Saturday.

“I felt the need to come out and apologise to the fans (on Twitter), because there is no point in hiding.

“It was a way to apologise to the fans, to try to get them on my side. The last thing I want is for the fans to want me out. I’ve only been here two months! It’s down to me now.

“I feel settled at the club – and I am settled – but there is no hiding the fact that they were quite a few people watching the game, and others will have seen the goal on Sky Sports. I’m not the sort of person who goes into my shell or shies away from the ball.

“You can’t hide as a footballer. You’ve got to stay confident,” added Rose.

Some managers might have substituted an under-performing defender at half-time, following a terrible first 45 minutes, but U’s boss John Ward stuck with his first-choice left-back. And Rose duly delivered a much-improved second-half showing.

“To be honest, I was expecting to be dragged off at half-time,” confessed Rose.

“But the gaffer didn’t say a lot to me at half-time. I think he knew how I would be feeling, and I was very disappointed.

“I thought he would say to me – ‘come on, you have had enough’ - but I don’t think the gaffer works like that.

“He knows me and I know him. He knew how I felt, and I wanted to get back out there.”

Rose has already had his share of highs and lows, since his summer switch from Swindon. Another low point was conceding the penalty that led to Wycombe’s 1-1 draw at the Weston Homes Community Stadium last Saturday. Four days earlier, he had missed the vital spot kick in the penalty shoot-out defeat at Wycombe in the U’s Carling Cup exit.

But he has also been impressive going forward, delivering pinpoint crosses for Kayode Odejayi’s headed goal in the 4-2 win at Preston, and Ashley Vincent’s slick finish in last Saturday’s draw against Wycombe.

“People don’t always remember the positive things, but I like to get the on the ball, get forward and get in the crosses. Hopefully, I can get a few more assists,” continued Rose.

“Huddersfield is another massive game for us, and we need to bounce back.”