Boss puts defeat down to defensive errors

Micky Adams couldn’t hide his disappointment following the 5-0 defeat to Bristol City last night and said once again it was down to defensive errors.

minute lead, but it was still the Vale who were catching the eye.^thVale had been on top for much of the first half. The home side took a 15

But a nightmare five minute spell leading up to half time saw Vale leak in a further three goals, leaving everybody shell-shocked and Vale were never going to recover from it.

The Vale boss said: “We are disappointed, it is obviously not what we came here for, but we were beaten by a better team on the night, who had the outstanding player on the night in Emanuel-Thomas.

“We never laid a glove on him, never got near him, but we have to be disappointed with what we have done today.

“Having said that, we went behind early doors and then had a great chance to equalise, but even that, it shouldn’t knock the stuffing out of you because you have not equalised – and then, once again, the defending wasn’t good enough.

“We will probably look back at the game and say we had three great chances, but we would still have lost five-three.

“In terms of the scoreline, we have no complaints about that, no complaints about the defeat, we are disappointed with our efforts and we have done that a few times this season, but we will have to bounce back.

“The players are disappointed and they have got every right to be. We haven’t shown our true colours, but I think, and I have said it all along, we have been punching above our weight.

“Bristol City are a good side and I am not going to go down the route about them having more money than we have and better players and they should be further up the league – that’s their problem.

“But as far as I could see, today we weren’t good enough and we have to accept that.

“I think the game was over at half time – we wanted to try and win the second half if we possibly could, but once we had a player sent off, it was game over, full stop.

“I was disappointed with Carl’s sending off. The referee warned him once before about talking to him and then he gets booked for dissent and sent off within a minute.

“I can’t stick up for him that way, I am disappointed with his actions, we kept going but I have got to feel really disappointed with what we have done tonight.”

At the end of the game a handful of travelling fans vented their frustration against the players and the manager – actions which have seen Adams seriously consider his future with the club.

He said: “I think supporters who pay good money to watch their team, whether it be home or away, have got every right to be disappointed when they see their team don’t turn up and I feel disappointed for them.

“But if you go on the football circuit they say how well we have done – the real football people.

“That’s not to say we haven’t got knowledgeable football fans, because we have, but some of the abuse at the end there was way over the top, and I have to say I have got to question my future at the club because of it.

“I have been abused by football supporters before, but as I have said, I think I have done okay for this football club and I can’t sit by and accept what was said to me.

“I think it was disgusting and as I have said before, I will leave my future to the end of the season, but certainly it is up in the air at the moment, the way I feel.

“I have been thinking about it loads – whether my course as manager of this football club has run its course, I don’t know.

“With that expectancy, I don’t know what else I can do at the club, so whether it is time for a fresh challenge or not I don’t know.

“The majority of the fans have been great, but I can’t accept what I have heard tonight, and let’s be fair, if my players had walked off the pitch without acknowledging the supporters, we would have been slaughtered.

“So I made sure we all go over there and thank them for their support, and still that’s not good enough.”