JOHN Sheridan rued another stoppage time sickener that condemned Oldham Athletic to a sixth straight defeat.

Latics took a first-half lead against promotion changing Mansfield thanks to Davis Keillor-Dunn's 14th goal of the season.

But a half-time change made the Stags more attack-minded and they equalised through Rhys Oates just eight minutes after the re-start.

Sheridan was hopeful of breaking the cycle of defeats.

But in the fifth minute of stoppage time Latics failed to defend a disputed throw-in, following a push on Will Sutton, and after Oates was denied by the post, substitute George Lapslie turned in the rebound.

"It's a cruel way to lose a game but we should be switched on shouldn't we," said a flat and frustrated Sheridan, who has previously seen his side ship stoppage time goals in defeats to Carlisle, Swindon and Exeter.

"Too many times it's happened.

"The lack of organisation with 30 seconds to go, four or five times now, it's hard to take isn't it.

"I've never known so many late goals against me as a manager.

"I think we just switch off. We have to organise and organise and organise and keep organising and don't stop.

"Against a team going for promotion I thought we were excellent in the first half and should have been three-up in my eyes.

"But for some reason I've always got this feeling that teams are going to come back at us.

"I told them at half-time how well they'd done and should be possibly two or three up.

"I can hear Nige (Mansfield boss Nigel Clough) giving them a rollicking, he's got into them and they made a couple of changes.

"We just came out in the second half and for some reason we stand off them.

"I said we can talk all we want at half-time and I can tell you how good you are but you've got to go back out now and do 45 minutes and try to perform as well as you did in the first 45."

Sheridan added: "It's really cruel in the way we've lost the game, but it's our own doing.

"We gave the ball away again for the first goal. They've got to know the importance of why I say you should do things better.

"We're in possession of the ball on the halfway line then 15 seconds later it's in the back of our net. We shouldn't be giving the ball away."

Sheridan said their inability to capitalise on openings was proving just as costly.

"We've had good opportunities. We should have more of a killer instinct because there were some good, good chances there.

"We scored a great goal, a great ball from Stobbsy (Jack Stobbs). We had some good chances.

"It's typical the winning goal hits the post but how he's even had a shot, how we invite the throw-in into that area is beyond me, it really is. It's beyond me how we can't just get positions quickly. You don't even have to attempt to win the ball, you just stand in the pockets and they'll probably end up throwing it back to the left back.

"We invite the ball into the striker into the penalty box. It's absolutely criminal. But we're at a level where we're going to do those things and we're in a position and that's why we're near the bottom of the league because we do those silly things.

"It's a big, massive downer. Even to just get a point and end the losing run. It's really hard to take."