Will Wright said that Swindon Town were simply not good enough in all areas as they were defeated 2-1 at Port Vale.
The defender scored his second goal for the club as a late consolation after George Byers and Brandon Cover had scored in the second half to assert the host's dominance.
Asked about the side's performance, Wright said that the team had simply not shown up on the day with a display that was not to the right level.
He said: "It is a tough question, to be honest, we were not good enough all over the park, especially in the first half.
"Although they scored their goals in the second half, I think the first half was more alarming.
"We couldn't get out, couldn't defend set plays, and then eventually you give a team that is good from set plays enough of them then eventually they will punish you and that is exactly what happened."
Swindon struggled persistently throughout the match in getting through Port Vale to turn defence into attack and Wright discussed why he thought that was the case.
He said: "I think they got their press right at times and it is hard playing out sometimes when you don't get it right early on and you try and play a bit more direct but then that kept coming back and we tried to play out again.
"We probably didn't get a foothold in the game at any point, so you are also wary of not getting success playing out and some players can get a little bit nervous on the ball and don't want to make a mistake that leads to a goal.
"You just can't be like that if we are going to play out from the back.
"Sometimes you need those nervy moments where the opposition think they are going to win the ball and players behind them jump into positions because they think they are going to win it.
"You need those moments when they think they are about to win it and they don't so then you are through their press and then it is about moving high up the pitch and either killing quickly or sustaining attacks in their half where if you turn the ball over you have 50 yards of space to recover.
"There are lots of lessons in there for us and you need to learn quickly because if you don't then you will find yourselves in trouble."
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