Gerry Murphy told htafc.com that he was pleased with the vast majority of his side's performance against Port Vale in the FA Cup, but that the players need to learn lessons following Vale's amazing comeback.

The Caretaker Manager was disappointed to see his side lose the game in the closing moments after an excellent performance, but admitted that such a comeback is not unprecedented in the FA Cup.

"It's a very bad result for us, but Cup football throws up these results. I thought we were comfortable at 3-1 and we did send the message on, to make sure the back door was closed. We told the lads not to do anything silly.

"We were going to make changes with ten minutes to go, to save Roberts and Jevons and put Broadbent and Cadamarteri up front. My intention was also to take Michael Collins off, who I felt deserved a round of applause, and bring James Berrett on.

"I felt that Andy Butler could have cleared the ball ahead of their second goal, but I felt he got fouled anyway. Matty came off his line and got chipped.

"They finished with a great free-kick and I'm not knocking their goals - I suppose it's that kind of thing that keeps people coming to football matches. We had to be a bit more professional, as the game lasts for 90 minutes. We have to realise that there is no need to take chances when we are winning.

"Port Vale had five shots and scored four goals today, and their first shot in the second half was their second goal. Perhaps we were overconfident and that came back to bite us.

"There are certain things we have seen today that we need to work on, but that will take time. We should have eleven leaders out on the field and we need the players to communicate, because if people get carried away and start pushing up field they need to be reminded that we shouldn't be chasing the game at 3-1 up.

"I think that goals alter games and our lads got a little bit edgy after their second - they must have been thinking 'here we go again'. However, for 79 minutes I thought we played some good stuff and you could see the confidence coming back to the players. I was very pleased with the way that most of the game went - it's what we had been working on."

Murphy changed the system to a 3-5-2 formation for today's game and he commended the players for their performances.

"I felt that Joe Skarz did well in our system today. With all due respect to Nathan Clarke and Andy Butler, neither player is blessed with an abundance of pace and we wanted to put somebody else in between them as assurance. He made a mistake for their first goal, which was down to a lack of communication, but apart from that I thought he did exceptionally well.

"The three midfield players were excellent and Andy Holdsworth was superb. That holding midfield role is a nice position for Jim Goodwin as well. Roberts and 'Jevo' worked well up front too. Everything was going the way we hoped it would, but we didn't legislate for what happened.

"I was very pleased with Michael (Collins) today. We know what he can do and it just shows you how confidence can affect what you produce on the pitch. It's a pity he didn't finish his other chance when the score was 3-1."

Next up for Murphy and co. Is a derby trip to Leeds United next Saturday and he explained he is looking to take the positives from today's performance into the game.

"We have to get on with things now and we'll be reminding them how well we played. The passing game was better and I thought we tried to get it down and play from the back, which is what I believe in. They must have confidence and trust their own ability; they should want the ball. At stages I felt we forced it a little bit, but if I can get them to want the ball and trust in their own ability I think we'll be a far better side.

"It's a big game for us at Leeds next Saturday. It would have been nice for the fans and the Club to have a Cup run and we're all a bit down at the moment, but we'll pick ourselves up and be positive ahead of our next match."