Having gone a goal down after four minutes through Lukas Jutkiewicz’s header, Town equalised from the penalty spot after Matty Pearson had been dragged to the ground, but Gary Gardner’s low drive just a few minutes later condemned the Town to defeat.

Speaking about conceding the second goal, Jones said: “We were in the ascendancy at that point, we made a few changes with George and Dan, we changed the shape, we were positive. I think the game was in our hands, I think they have a throw-in and all of a sudden we go down the pitch and it’s another soft goal and that’s really disappointing.”

The gaffer was left frustrated by the Town’s inability to make in-roads, with Lee Camp not properly tested until late on: “That was maybe a measurement of the performance today – we lacked a spark,” Jones continued.

“I think for the first 30 minutes that’s as low on confidence as I have seen us. I couldn’t see anyone who wanted to have a touch, find their teammate and we had to sort of cajole it out of them and that’s a bigger worry.

“I like the response, we put George on, we put Dan on and I think we found impetus and momentum in the game. But obviously you concede a goal like that and it’s a difficult to come back again.

“I think the first 30 minutes they found it very difficult mentally today in terms of confidence and getting on the ball. I am not saying they weren’t up for it, I am saying from a confidence point of view, having a touch, being creative, going past people, doing something different, I think we struggled. It was the subs really that gave us some impetus in the game, the change of shape helped.

“At 1-1, if anyone was backing a team, they would have backed us to go on and win it, but we give a soft goal away, that’s the story of our season.”