Rancagua (Chile), June 20 (IANS): Coach Miguel Herrera admitted that he considers his Mexico team's Copa America campaign a failure after they crashed out of the group phase with a 1-2 defeat to Ecuador.

Although the team's stars are playing in the Gold Cup next month, the CONCACAF guests still came into the tournament hoping to reach the semi-finals.

Instead, they will be an early flight back to Mexico after their defeat by Ecuador on Friday eliminated El Tri from the tournament.

"You have to accept failure," Herrera said in a news conference after the match.

"We didn't understand the magnitude of how we played. We lacked energy and didn't get stuck in. They didn't do things well and it's a failure."

While Herrera said it's his job to prepare the team for whatever comes, he also felt his men lacked understanding and readiness for the South American showpiece with Mexico sputtering on a number of occasions in their opening match against Bolivia and Friday's defeat to Ecuador.

"We didn't understand when we came into this tournament and we were late in getting started," Herrera said.

"We played a match where we understood (how to play) and the rest were just sparks. Today we have chances we didn't take advantage of. Without putting forth effort, it's tough to advance. We didn't understand how and in what way to play in this tournament."

Mexico finish with two points after draws with Bolivia and Chile but finish last in Group A.