Port Vale manager Darren Moore admitted he sounded like a “broken record” after his side remained winless in Sky Bet League One this season following their 1-0 defeat at Reading.
Vale have now gone six league games without a victory, with Paddy Lane’s 66th-minute goal securing Reading’s first league triumph this term.
“We just couldn’t get to the levels that were expected today,” Moore said.
“I really do sound like a broken record. Did we have chances again today? Of course we did.
“It was just self-inflicted again. We give the ball away [for the goal] and another player doesn’t recover back into the position that he should do.
“I know that the geezer [Lane] has hit it in the top corner, but the ball has come a long way from when we gave it away. It could have been prevented.
“So it’s the same again, me sounding like that broken record.
“We’re really going through it at the moment and we’ve just got to keep going.
“What is the fix? Maybe if players aren’t doing their jobs then we’ve got to change the individual.
“We can’t keep pitying ourselves that we’re not doing our jobs. The boys know what they have to do.
“When you look back at the goal, you have to look at the harsh reality. We just haven’t done our jobs.
“The ball should never have got to the boy [Lane] where he was.”
Reading manager Noel Hunt was sent off in the 51st minute for flicking the ball away with his foot at a Vale throw-in.
In Hunt’s absence from post-match duties, Royals first-team coach Mikele Leigertwood said: “It’s a great win, just what we needed.
“It’s been a tough start to the season but we’ve now gone a few unbeaten [four games in league and cup].
“To get a win here, and in the manner that we did it, is obviously very pleasing.
“We knew what Port Vale were going to be like. They’re a big strong side and also aggressive. We knew that, first of all, we had to match that.
“We had moments of real quality and we felt that we could have scored one or two more goals.
“But the finish from Paddy [Lane] was brilliant. It was so important for us to get that first goal. That gave us the momentum to keep the pressure on.
“It was also vital to keep a clean sheet as well, that was even better. That’s an important part for us.
“As much as we want to play nice attacking football, we’ve got to be resilient and we’ve got to be strong. We’ve got to be able to defend as well.”
