Micky Adams admitted his Port Vale side deserved no reward as they went down 2-0 at home to Gillingham in League Two on Saturday.
Deon Burton and Chris Whelpdale put the Gills into a comfortable lead after 25 minutes at Vale Park and the visitors never looked back.
Adams said: "We got out of it what we deserved which was nothing. That's the simple answer to it because Gillingham were the better team. We needed to turn up for a big game and we didn't do it. The pace of (Robbie) Findley scared the life out of us and we sank deeper and deeper.
"From the start we passed the ball square and backwards and our four front men were dealt with by the Gillingham defenders, who were excellent. The major difference was we haven't coped with their danger men and they coped admirably with our danger men.
"It's particularly disappointing because we've had a great crowd here and we've not given them anything to shout about.
"Of course it's not all doom and gloom because we've had some great performances this season and now we've got to bounce back."
