Port Vale boss Jon Brady has described the standard of football from his players this season as "heart-breaking" and said the club "needs a reset" after relegation.
After relegation to League Two was confirmed by defeat to Cardiff last Wednesday, the Valiants went down 2-1 to Plymouth on Saturday.
Vale's 23rd defeat of the season left them second-bottom with two games left.
Brady took over a side who were bottom when he replaced Darren Moore as boss in January, and despite an improvement in results and an FA Cup quarter-final run, Vale were condemned to an immediate return to the fourth tier.
"I don't want to make excuses at the moment, but since we've come in [there have been] an unbelievable amount of challenges that we've had to fight through," he told BBC Radio Stoke.
"I've stood at the front – I'm not wilting. I'm making sure that they stand strong, I'm still trying to make sure that we deliver standards.
"It's almost heart-breaking at times to see some of that standards delivered, it really is. It's not good enough.
"But we're not at the level and that's a fact, individually and collectively, and what we need to do is make sure we try to get our recruitment above the level we go to."
- Plymouth Argyle 2-1 Port Vale
- Relegation hard to take but Vale will learn – Brady
A paucity of goals has been a major factor in Vale's third relegation in 11 seasons. Only Sheffield Wednesday have scored fewer than the Valiants' tally of 34 league goals in the EFL this season.
Salt was rubbed in the wound on Saturday when former Vale forward Lorent Tolaj teed up Plymouth's opener after a move between the clubs last summer.
Brady said there was "nothing out there at all good enough" among forwards available on a free transfer and believes the club will need to invest to improve the squad ready for League Two next season.
"We certainly need a reset here and we need better quality all round," he said.
"The group gives everything they've got, but if the quality isn't good enough then you're consistently not good enough.
"We show, we help, we guide, but in the end, if you keep making the same mistakes then you've got to make changes."
Vale complete an intense run of five games in 12 days with a trip to play-off chasers Stockport on Tuesday (19:45 BST) before hosting champions Lincoln on Saturday (15:00 BST).
