Crawley Town fan's view: How John Yems remained so calm and magnanimous in his post match interview I do not know

It has been noted they seem to struggle most against mediocre teams below them in the table.

That was not the case against Port Vale as the visitors were a significantly better team in all respects. For some odd reason the Reds always seem overawed by the Valiants..

I saw no leadership on the pitch, no bite in the tackle, no thought in the distribution and precious little attacking play. Quite how the often volatile John Yems remained so calm and magnanimous in his post match interview I do not know.

Although Crawley Town’s players are not Premier League superstars they are professional footballers and a manager in any trade should be highly concerned if his workforce fell so far below the required standards. When players like Glen Morris make simple errors of judgement or Tom Nichols is intimidated into a bit part performance you know there is something wrong.

The problems stemmed from the back, highlighting the value of the injured Jordan Tunnicliffe. The lack of pace in central defence was mentioned in commentary but it was their lack of perception that concerned me most. The back line had little support from midfield which was ironic given the paucity of their attacking intent. Upfront Ashley Nadesan’s headed goal was nicely taken but the side managed only three shots on target all game.

The only saving grace was the return from injury of Sam Matthews who did more attacking in his twenty minute cameo than the rest did put together. It is so frustrating that the Reds can generate a number of performances that suggest a push for the play offs is both possible and merited but then follow up with a display that wouldn’t pass muster in the lower leagues.

Perhaps the team’s malaise affected iFollow which struggled to keep up with the clock. There should be no delay in the transmission of a live game but my wife, who was watching Sky Sports, was able to confirm Port Vale’s third goal while my screen was showing the game poised at 1-1. I reckon it was about 14 minutes adrift.

I hope that from such a low point the only way we can go is up.

SEE ALSO Crawley Town 1, Port Vale 3: Reds undone as Vale record third straight win | 'We got bashed up' - John Yems has no complaints after Port Vale beat Crawley | Crawley Town 1, Port Vale 3: Who stood out for the Reds as they fall to Vale? - player ratings