Frustrated Bristol City boss Keith Millen saw his side bundled out of the FA Cup by League One Sheffield Wednesday and then accused his players of "mental weakness".

Millen pointed the finger of blame after the Robins crashed out at the third round stage for a fourth consecutive season, cut down to size by three goals in 16 second-half minutes from Gary Teale, Neil Mellor and Clint Morrison in front of a stunned Ashton Gate crowd.

City, who dominated the opening 45 minutes without taking their chances, collapsed after falling behind, prompting manager Millen to question the temperament of his players.

Millen said: "They have to look at themselves. David James has not had to make a save and then they've scored what is a very poor goal from our point of view and we've caved in. It was too easy for them to score.

"But what was most disappointing was our response to going behind. There were too many players out there in that second half who allowed their heads to drop too quickly.

"You could see the disappointment in their play. By all means, be disappointed in the changing room after the game, but not out on the pitch. We were weak in the second half and, all of a sudden, we were wide open and looked like a bad side.

"Too many of them looked angry at what had happened, but were too weak mentally to react in the right way. If you are going to progress as a team and as group of players, which I want us to do, then you cannot afford to do that.

"They have to accept adversity when it happens and be strong enough mentally to put it right at the other end of the pitch. It's a mental thing and something we have to discuss as a group."

City's players were made to re-watch the game on DVD over the weekend and Millen and his staff were today expected to conduct an inquiry into what went wrong.

Millen said: "There are a lot of lessons to be learned and I sent each of the players home with a video of the game to watch. They were too quiet as a group and accepted a poor performance too easily when they were back in the dressing room.

"We have to analyse what went wrong and I expect them to stand up, be honest and talk openly about it on Monday rather than be quiet."

Millen played down an alleged bust-up with midfielder Lee Johnson, who appeared to exchange harsh words with his manager in front of the dugout after being substituted midway through the second half.

"Lee is a winner, Lee wants to play and he wants us to get results, so he is disappointed," said Millen. "He said a couple of things to me, I said a couple of things back and that's all it was. We move on.

"I want players to be emotional and upset when things don't go right and they show that in different ways."

City's defeat was all the harder to accept, because they were by far the better team in the first half.

Millen added: "We totally dominated the first half and I was pleased with our performance. We moved the ball well and created a lot of opportunities.

"But you are always conscious of having to take advantage when you are on top and, perhaps, we should have worked the keeper more than we did.

"Had we scored the first goal during that period, I'm sure the outcome would have been different. I told them to keep it going at half time, but they dropped the tempo instead and allowed Sheffield Wednesday to come back into the game."

A third-round exit represents a financial body blow to a club that announced a record deficit of £11.8 million last year, and Millen conceded: "It's a big loss to us."

He was also left to count the cost in terms of personnel after both Steven Caulker and Christian Ribeiro were injured.

Millen said: "Christian looks as though he has pulled or torn a hamstring and he could be out for quite a few weeks, if it turns out to be as bad as it looks.

"As for Steven, he doesn't look too good. He got a whack to the hip flexer and, if it's bruising, he could be okay in a day or two.

"But if he has a problem, then he will be unable to lift his knee or run properly."